Who I Really Am
by countingeverysecondoftheday
Summary: Austin is seen as someone he's not - he's a kind, normal teenage guy with a passion for music and a dream of being a musician, but rumours and stories in school depict him as a no-good bad boy. Ally is a shy, quiet girl who wants nothing to do with him, but when they start to spend more time together will she grow to like him for who he really is? OOC. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone, welcome to my new story! I hope you guys all enjoy it!**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

 **This chapter is gonna be kind of like a pilot chapter, just to gauge people's reaction. The next chapter will be up in a couple of weeks' time, but the larger the demand and response the sooner that will be!**

 **I hope you all enjoy!**

. . . . .

 **Chapter One: A is for…**

 _Ally's POV_

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

 _Beep_

"Ugh…" I groan as I slowly open my eyes and wait for them to adjust to the sunlight streaming through my window.

I threw my arm out and slapped it down on the alarm clock that was beeping like there was no tomorrow, thankful for the silence that followed. I rubbed my eyes as I sat up, and gave myself a minute just sat there as I thought about everything.

It was the first day of my junior year in High School, and I was feeling… well, I was feeling lots of things really, but on the whole I was very positive, because believe it or not, I am one of those people who actually _enjoys_ going to school and learning – what's the point in having a brain if you're not going to test and stretch and fill it with information?

There were going to be big changes this year at Marino High. The school had for some reason decided that, as it was junior year, and therefore halfway through our time at High School, the classes should all be switched up a bit so that we could all interact with new people. Stupid idea, I know. Basically, it meant that we would still have the same classes, but the people in them would all be switched up a bit, as every year beforehand there had been two 'sides' of the year. These 'sides' were being mixed around a bit… it was all a bit confusing, but it made sense at the same time.

Lots of people were _not_ happy with these new changes, because for them it meant that they would be split up from their friends who would now be on the other 'side' of the year. Fortunately, that had not really been a problem for me, because… well, to be honest, I didn't really have many friends. In fact, I only really had one true friend, Trish. Trish de la Rosa. She's been my best friend for as long as I can remember. She's a short Latina girl, which thick black curly hair that runs down her back just past her shoulders. Trish is amazing, she's really sweet and caring to her friends, but she's not afraid to stand up for herself and never backs down. Essentially, you just don't want to get on the wrong side of her.

Then there's me. Me, Allyson Dawson (but everyone calls me Ally). Short, but still taller than Trish, I have brown eyes and brown hair that goes just past my shoulders. I got caramel highlights in my hair recently, with a little persuasion from Piper telling me it would look better, and everyone agreed when I finally did it.

My love life... well, in short, it's non-existent. I am what is known as an 'ultimate virgin'. Basically what this means is that I have never had a boyfriend, I've never been kissed, hell I've never even been hugged in any way other than friendly. And let's just say, being like this and seeing everyone else all happy and in couples and stuff doesn't really boost my self-esteem. I know I'm not the best looking girl, but I've just accepted it over the years I guess. Trish has always been there to reassure me and say that I'm beautiful really, which is kind, but no matter how much I'm told it by her and my parents I never feel it.

I've never really had many classes with any of the group, really. I don't take the same classes as most of them. For my junior year I am taking a total of 6 AP classes to ensure I get into my college of choice, MUNY (we'll come to that later), and none of my group are the most intelligent people. I'm taking AP Music, World History, Spanish, Calculus, English Literature and Chemistry. I also have already completed an honors in Theatre, got that done in my Sophomore year.

For the past 3 years, I've been with Trish in AP Spanish (by far her best subject, what do you expect her family all speaks it), Calculus (she spends half the time sleeping, no clue why she took it or how she manages to stay in it) and Chemistry (we've always been lab partners – I always end up doing most of the work but I don't really mind. But now that they're changing up the classes and everything, I'm only with Trish in AP Chemistry and Spanish.

We have 8 periods a day at my school, leaving me two free periods that have always matched up with Trish's, but once again the new system has messed it up and now I'll only have one free period with her. I guess I can look forward to being a complete loner during the other one, but honestly I'm actually just used to that now. Oh, we also have a compulsory period of Sports every Wednesday. So on Wednesdays I only have one free period… luckily it's the same one as Trish.

Now, back to this whole MUNY thing. Basically, music is my life – I absolutely adore it. I find it so incredible how _sounds_ can make us feel so many emotions and can express so much meaning. I've been writing songs for a few years, but no-one except Trish knows about them. I have the _worst_ stage fright you can imagine. But at least no one else really knows about it, because I have no one else to tell apart from Trish. And this way I can at least keep it a secret – I really don't need the whole school discovering I like music because I'll inevitably be forced to perform in front of the school or something and then I'd just have a panic attack and die. Over-dramatic? I don't think so.

My AP Music classes have always been really small, only a few people in them. I'm so thankful for this, it means that when we have performance projects I don't have to perform in front of too many people – remember how bad I get stage fright. I mentioned earlier that I did an honors in Theatre, and that was a big class, but it's not the same. When I'm acting, I'm not me, I'm simply playing a character, and somehow that lets me perform without stage fright, but music is so personal to me and I feel so open when I play that it's a completely different story.

Where does my passion for music come from, you ask? Well, I guess music's just always been in my life. My Dad, Lester, owns Sonic Boom, a music store in the mall that sells anything and everything to do with music, and he has since before I was born. I spend a lot of time there helping him run the place, and when I was growing up I would spend a lot of time there with him after school because no one would be at home for me. Because I spent so much time there I had a lot of time to play around with all the instruments and what not and my Dad has always tried to teach me what he knows, as well as getting me lessons on more difficult instruments. As a result, I can now play piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, most things on bass and I have the basics of violin and drums down too.

My mom, Penny, she still lives with us, but she's never really been so keen on music. Her and my Dad have always argued about it, she was never too keen on my Dad owning a music store and she didn't really want me to go down the musical path. She's always been a businesswoman, working in a " _real_ job" with long hours and good pay, and wanting me to do the same. Don't get me wrong, she still loves us both and I love her too, and she understands how passionate about music I am and tries to support me, but she's never had the same understanding of it as my Dad has.

Anyway, back to the big morning. I get up at 6 a.m., I have to because school starts at 7:30. I can honestly say I won't be sad to see the end of early morning starts when I graduate! Despite how early it is, the sun is shining brightly (it is Miami, what do you expect?), so I walk over to my curtains and draw them back, allowing the sunlight to shine into my room at full force, illuminating it completely. That's what I love about my bedroom, it's positioned just right so the sunlight gets directly into it pretty much all day.

I opened the glass doors and hopped out onto my balcony, leaning against the railing and smiling as the warmth of the sun warmed me up. I stand there for about 30 seconds before going back into my room and closing the door. I opened the window above my desk to let some fresh air in and stumble into the en-suite bathroom to begin my morning routine.

30 minutes later I emerge from the bathroom showered and hair washed. I blow dry and straighten my hair before walking over to my closet to decide what to wear today. It looks like it's a relatively warm day, so I decide on a light pink floral dress that comes to just below my mid-thigh, with a brown leather waist belt. I grab a white lace cardigan to go over the top and sit down at my dressing table to do my make-up.

Like I said before, I'm not the prettiest girl in the world and I know it, but I'm also not the type of girl who cakes their face in make-up to try and look "perfect". I put on some natural style make-up and a small amount of lip gloss before smiling at myself in the mirror. I grab some brown leather heeled ankle boots to match the belt.

It's now 6:45 so I have about 15 minutes before I need to leave to meet Trish and walk to school, and my stomach's rumbling like nothing, so I grabbed my phone and strolled out of my room and down the stairs.

The second my bedroom door closed behind me I was met by the heavenly smell of food coming from downstairs. That's one other thing about my Mom – she is an _amazing_ cook! I sauntered down the stairs, trying my best to be graceful and smiling to myself, before rounding the corner into the kitchen. I could smell fresh coffee brewing along with food from the stove where my Mom was stood cooking, and the radio was on to a generic radio station like it was every morning.

My Dad was sat at the table with the newspaper and a mug of coffee. He looked up and smiled brightly at me when he saw me walk in. "Morning sweetie, how did you sleep?" He asked kindly.

"Morning Dad, I slept great thanks." I said, walking over and perching on a stool at the island/breakfast bar as I pulled out and unlocked my phone. "Morning Mom." I said to her as she stood with her back to me, facing the cooker from where I could smell… hmm, I couldn't quite decipher it.

"Morning hon, you excited for your first day of junior year?" She replied gently, turning her head to smile softly at me.

"Yeah, I guess so, it doesn't really feel any different to being a sophomore." I replied, looking up at her and returning her smile. She kept the smile on her face and nodded a little before turning her attention back to the food. "What are you making for breakfast, mom?" I asked politely as I got up and walked over to the fridge, taking out the carton of orange juice and pouring myself a glass.

"Waffles dear, is that okay?" She replied sweetly, not looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah, that's great, thanks!" I said back as I returned to my seat at the island.

"Good." She said with a giggle as she continued to cook.

10 minutes later and I had eaten it all without hesitating, my Mom's waffles were renowned for being incredible and they never failed to live up to that reputation.

I ran back upstairs, thanking my Mom for the breakfast as I went and quickly entered my bedroom. I grabbed all my books and folders and pens and shoved them into my bag.

I specifically make sure I have my most prized possession with me – my songbook. It was given to me by my Mom years ago when she realised that I was serious about music, as an attempt to show me that she's willing to support me in it. It's perfect, brown leather with a big orange A on the front. Obviously, the A is for Ally. I use it as a songbook/journal/diary, I write everything in it – my thoughts, my feelings, songs I'm writing, random lyrics that come into my head, anything, and I always have it with me. And most importantly, _no one_ but me is allowed to look in it. I show Trish the occasional thing in it, but that's it! It's my personal book and I don't even let people touch it. If anyone read half the stuff in there I would die, I cringe myself just reading back over some of the stuff in there.

One last look in the mirror and I was back out and down the stairs. I said bye to both my parents and gave them each a kiss on the cheek before walking towards the front door. "Are you sure you don't want a lift, darling?" My Dad called behind me as I walked out of the kitchen.

"No thanks Dad it's fine, I'm walking with Trish." I called back over my shoulder.

"Okay, see you later!" He replied merrily.

"Have a great day at school!" My Mom called out as I opened the front door.

"Thank you, bye!" I answered as I walked out and shut the door behind me.

To anyone we'd look like the perfect family, and it's true that a lot of the time we were, but like every family we definitely had our fair share of problems, and I knew that there would always be something to get in the way in the future.

I took a deep breath and let it back out again smiling. I put on my sunglasses and walked down my driveway and right down the street to meet Trish and begin our junior year.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

I woke up to the sound of clattering coming from downstairs, as I do most mornings, and glanced over at my clock. 6:30. Ah well, it was time to get up anyway so I sat up and swung my legs out of bed. I opened up my curtains to let in the sunlight and cracked open my balcony door to let a little air in.

I grabbed my phone and opened it up, not surprised to see hundreds of message notifications. My friends had clearly decided that they were gonna stay up practically all night on the group chat, the last message being sent at 3:27 this morning. _'What idiots'_ I thought to myself, knowing that they were going to be so tired all day. Ah well, at least it would be pretty funny to see them being even dumber than usual.

All my friends are pretty crazy, especially Dez, my best friend. I've known him for years. He's a lovely guy, but he is crazy, borderline worryingly so. Tip for life: _never_ ask Dez what's in his pocket or does he have any pets, because you will get the weirdest answers from him.

Then there's Elliot. He's honestly the sweetest guy you'll ever meet and he's got a heart like gold, but he's also not the brightest of people and that is often his downfall.

The final member of our group is Alex. He's a bit more intelligent than Elliot and Dez, but he doesn't have the best attitude and there have been a few times when the rest of us have had to step in to stop him from bullying people. He's a feisty one, easily aggravated and always determined to have what he wants in any way possible. But when he tries he can be a really nice guy.

That's right, there's only four of us in our group, but we're happy and we're popular. We're not jocks or anything, although I do have a pretty good body if I do say so myself, although I've got plenty of friends and people who like me, but those three are my main group.

I don't know why I'm so popular, I'm not even like a bad boy or anything, but that is my reputation – even though I've never done anything to encourage it. I mean, girls have always told me that I'm cute, or hot, or whatever, and teenagers nowadays think that it's impossible to be good-looking and intelligent. Stereotypes, how I hate them. And yes, it's true, I have had a reputation as a bit of a player, but in every relationship I've been in it just hasn't felt right to me so I broke up with the girl sooner rather than later. That makes me seem like a jerk for going through the ladies quickly, but I just do it so that it's over before either of us gets too attached.

I'm not complaining about people thinking I'm a bad boy, by the way. It means people don't expect much from me, and that suits me just fine.

But I'm also not saying that being a "bad-boy" doesn't have its downsides. Because of it, most of the people who try to get close to me only do it because of my status. Often, girls will only want to date me because of who I am, or my looks. And of course, there are the rumours that come from jealous and bitter exes, as well as other guys who don't like that I'm more popular than them and get all the female attention. Oh God the rumours. I won't bother going into details, but I'm sure you can guess that it's not nice stuff, and there are some sick people out there who come up with them.

I'm not dumb by any means, I'm taking 6 AP classes this year, and I like being sorta secretly intelligent. Obviously Dez, Elliot and Alex know I'm smart, but no one else really does. It's not even like I try and hide it, but my reputation would make people think otherwise, and believe it or not they believe the reputation over real experience. Crazy but it's true.

I know what you're thinking: 6 AP classes? This guy must be serious about college. And you'd be right. I'm taking AP World History, Statistics, French, English Literature, Chemistry and of course AP Music, with the goal of getting into MUNY.

Yeah, that's right, I love music. I want to be a recording artist and star when I grow up, I always have. I know, I know, _loads_ of people say that and millions of people share that dream with very little chance of success, but I'm really serious about music as a career. I've been obsessed with music my whole life, my parents have some old videos of toddler me walking around singing and dancing… God they're embarrassing.

But I've always loved music, and I can play loads of instruments – I can play piano, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums, bass, I can even play a trumpet through another trumpet! Guitar is definitely my favourite, though. I look up above my bed and hanging there is my red and white electric guitar, my pride and joy. The shape of it means it looks a little like an A, and this is made more obvious by a big black A that sits in the middle and outlines the shape. Obviously, A is for Austin.

I realise I've been standing here thinking for a few minutes, so I quickly race across the hallway into the bathroom and take a shower and wash my hair. When I'm done, I go back into my bedroom and dry my beach-blonde hair, which many people say is one of my best features, before standing in front of my mirror to make sure it's in that perfectly messy-yet-still-kinda-neat look. I stroll over to my wardrobe and get dressed. Today I decided to go with a blue v-neck t-shirt with sleeves down to my elbows, black skinny jeans and a black leather jacket, along with my usual dog tags.

I realised that I only had just less than 10 minutes before I need to drive to school, so I quickly ran downstairs. As I walked through the living room to get to the kitchen, I see my Dad, Mike, asleep on the couch with pillows, so clearly he and my Mom had another argument last night that ended in him having to sleep downstairs… again. Unfortunately that seems to be happening more and more recently. There's an empty bowl on the rug next to the couch on its side, I'm guessing my Dad dropped it which was the sound that woke me up this morning.

As I hurriedly walk into the kitchen, my Mom, Mimi, is sat at the table just staring into her cup of coffee in silence. She has bags under her eyes; clearly she didn't get much sleep last night. Her long blonde hair is scruffy and she clearly hasn't bothered to wash or comb it. She looks miserable. "Morning, Mom!" I say in my best bright and cheerful voice with a smile on my face in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Good morning. Are you excited for your first day of junior year?" She replied in a monotonous voice, not looking up from her coffee. I can tell she doesn't really care, but play along anyway for her benefit.

"Yeah, I can't wait to get these last two years done and just graduate already." I said back enthusiastically as I went to the fridge and grabbed out a small bowl of fruit salad, I didn't have time to eat anything more. Mom smiled slightly at my comment but didn't say anything else.

I quickly ate the fruit salad and threw my empty bowl in the sink, before shooting my Mom another smile and racing back past my still-sleeping Dad and upstairs.

I grabbed everything I needed for the day and shoved it all into my backpack, zipping it up quickly. I grabbed my blue high-tops and put them on to match my t-shirt. I didn't have time to lace them up so I just put the laces inside the shoe and slipped them on. To be honest I would have probably put them on like that anyway, I think it looks better… and I'm too lazy to tie them.

I did a final check in the mirror to make sure my hair still looked okay and gave myself a small smile and a wink before grabbing my backpack and leaving the room. "Bye Mom, love you!" I called out as I reached the door.

"Bye Austin, have a great day sweetheart!" She called back rather half-heartedly as I walked out the door and shut it behind me.

I strolled over to my car and unlocked it. A black Mercedes SLR hard-top convertible, it's my absolute pride and joy. I saved up for SO long and had to do SO many gigs to be able to afford it, it was basically my entire life savings so far, and I only paid for half of it. My parents paid the rest as my 16th birthday present. I kept it in absolutely pristine condition and did everything I could to keep it pretty much as good as new, and I did a pretty good job in doing that.

I got in, threw my backpack on the passenger seat, turned on the ignition, and of course the radio, and pulled out of the driveway and off towards Marino High for the first day of junior year.

. . . . .

 **There you go guys, there's the first chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it, not much at all happened really it was just more of an introduction to the main characters and a tiny bit of back story. I know this was a little boring but I hope you choose to stick with it :)**

 **Please, please, please make sure to review, favourite and follow! It really helps me know you're enjoying it!**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story, I hope you enjoyed the last chapter (although if you read it and then decided to read this one I'm hoping that means that you did :D). I hope you enjoy this chapter too!**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Two: The First Day (Part 1 of 3)**

 _Ally's POV_

I turned onto Trish's street just as she walked out her front door, and as soon as we saw each other we squealed and ran to each other, meeting in a big hug, jumping up and down slightly. Ha, we must have looked so weird, I hope people didn't see…

I hadn't seen Trish in like 3 weeks because she'd been spending some time with her relatives abroad, she only got to see them during the summer and at Christmas. So, because of this, it had been a rather lonely few weeks for me, I never met up with the other girls unless Trish was there with me, because I just didn't feel comfortable around them without her there. I know, it sounds really ridiculous.

Anyway, we'd been spinning, jumping and hugging for around 10 seconds, squealing and quietly screaming incoherently about how much we'd missed each other and how happy we were to see each other again.

We would have continued this quite happily if our beautiful moment of reunion wasn't interrupted by some jerk speeding past us in a black Mercedes. Could they have possibly had a _louder_ engine? As it sped down the street my ears were ringing from the roar of the engine that passed us, and I could see Trish was the same.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV (Briefly)_

As I was driving to school, when I turned down one street I saw two girls I vaguely recognised… I think they're in my year at school. One was a short brunette with caramel highlights and the other was even shorter with thick black curls. They looked like friendly people, so I considered pulling up and offering them a lift to be nice – I've decided that this year I should start to try and clear my name.

Then I remembered how many rumours there are about me, and thought that they had probably heard them. If they had, then they would probably think even worse of me if I suddenly offered them a lift having never met them before. They'd probably think I wanted to rape them or something.

Aaaand then I got angry. Angry at how the bad boy image made me look to other people, and I floored the gas and sped past them, feeling annoyed at everything and everyone.

Stupid rumours.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

We quickly recovered from the noise and collapsed into giggles when we saw each other's faces scrunched up as our ears desperately tried to block out the noise.

We started to walk towards school together side by side at a normal speed, we had about 20 minutes to get to school and it was about 10 minutes away, which meant I could get to my homeroom early and just sit with my songbook for a few minutes like I normally did.

"So, Trish, are you excited to be a junior?" I asked, turning to look at the shorter girl as we continued to walk.

"I don't know, I mean it doesn't really feel any different, but I know we're that one step closer to finally being done with school forever. Thank God." She replied. Trish had never been very fond of school, hence why she spent the majority of our calculus classes asleep. "But I'm kinda annoyed about the whole mixing-up-the-classes thing, now who's going to wake me in calculus when Mr Collins looks over at us?" I let out a chuckle.

"Oh no, you may have to pay attention!" I said sarcastically, knowing that would never happen. My theory was proved true by the look on Trish's face as she playfully scowled at me. "But at least we'll still be in Chemistry together."

"Yeah, true, I think I would kill my lab partner if it was anyone other than you." She said this playfully but I could tell there was some level of truth behind it, especially if her poor partner were to mess up the experiment. "But at least we only have two years left, then we're out of that hell-hole forever!"

"Yeah I feel the same way, really," I replied. "but won't you be even a little sad to see the end of High School?"

"Not really, I mean I know I'll stay in touch with you, no matter where we go to college, and that's all that really matters to me." Trish said back. She had other friends, unlike me, but she had always seemed to put me first, which made me very happy. "I can tell you one thing, though, I won't miss having to get up for classes so early." She continued, yawning and earning a small giggle from me. "So how was the end of your summer?"

"Well obviously not the same without you there. I didn't really do much, I just stayed at home relaxing, reading and writing a couple of songs."

"Ooh, anything good?" Trish asked enthusiastically. She had always been very supportive of my music and was always encouraging me to put myself out there and let the world hear me play, but she knew as well as I knew myself that my stage fright meant that would never happen. "I mean, everything you write is good but anything particularly amazing?"

I giggled again at her quick recovery even though I knew what she originally meant. "No, not really, just the usual kind of stuff." I don't write music to try and create masterpieces, I just use it as a way to relax and express my emotions at the same time. If the outcome is a good song, so much the better. "It was relaxing though, just being by myself with my piano and songbook."

"Listen, Ally, you know I say this as your best friend: you need to let loose more! You spend half your life on your own in your room, and yes I know that everyone needs time alone, but you have _way_ too much of it for a teenager!"

I was used to this kind of speech by now. Trish was always trying to encourage me to get out of my shell and meet new people, but I didn't want to or need to! I am perfectly happy with my best friend and small group of acquaintances, and I was even happier when I could just write music or read a good book.

"Trish, we've been over this so many times, I'm perfectly fine how I am." I replied, honestly a little annoyed that the school year hadn't even officially _begun_ yet and Trish was already doing this.

"Ally, you may be as you say 'perfectly fine', but you can be even _better_! Listen, you are an amazing, sweet, caring, wonderful person, and the more people that know this, the better! You could easily have _tons_ of friends, everyone who really knows you really love you!"

"Well that may be true, but I don't want 'tons of friends', don't you see Trish, what I have makes me happy." I replied sweetly, smiling at her.

"Oh my God Ally, we're getting nowhere with this." Trish chuckled as she spoke.

"Nothing new, then." I replied jokingly.

"Look, all I'm saying is that you should go out more. You're a teenager! Go to parties with me! We can go dancing, we can go clubbing, there's a house party of some sort almost every weekend. Hell, even just going for a walk in the park would be better than just being cooped up in your house 24/7." Trish encouraged me gently.

"Okay, first of all, you _know_ I can't dance. Second, those house parties are _not_ a good idea – you know that someone is always gonna spike the drinks and you know that someone is gonna start a fight with someone else. Those parties _never end well_. And thirdly, I'm not cooped up '24/7', you know that I spend a lot of my time helping out at Sonic Boom, so it's not even like I have the time to go to these parties anyway, even if I wanted to."

I work at Sonic Boom pretty much every day after school. School lets out at 3:30, so I go home first and then get to the store in the mall for around 5. Normally I work until around 8, depending upon how busy it is, and my Dad stays behind after that until the store closes. I use the rest of the evening to do all my homework, although if it's quiet enough I can do some of it at Sonic Boom. I'm not complaining at all, I love working at Sonic Boom, and it's great that it gives me a chance to spend time with my Dad.

"Listen to yourself Ally, your whole life is spent at school or working." Trish was trying to remain calm and talk gently, but I could tell she was getting annoyed that I was being so defensive about my work. "Okay, I know when I'm beaten; you're never going to let me persuade you. But promise me that you'll let me take you to a party at least _once_ this school year, just so you can see what you're missing out on. If you hate it, then oh well but at least you will have tried it."

"We'll see Trish, we'll see." I _really_ didn't want to have to go to a party, but part of me knew that there was no point in trying to fight it, Trish was clearly determined about this, and once she sets her mind to something, she doesn't give up until she's got it.

. . . . .

 _Trish's POV_

Argh, Ally could be so _frustrating_ sometimes! All I want to do is introduce a little more fun into her life and make her happier. She thinks that her life is perfect how it is, but I _know_ that she would be even happier if she just let loose a little, and I think deep down she knows it too.

I am _not_ giving up on this. Ally needs to know what it's like to have more fun.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

I pulled into my usual spot in the school parking lot, sighing deeply as I braced myself for the hell-ish day that I had a horrible feeling I was going to receive.

The first day back at school always meant a new set of rumours and stories about me and what I'd been up to over the summer. It was always the same kind of thing: guys claiming I'd gotten wasted on nights out, girls claiming I'd slept with them and said I loved them, other guys saying I'd spent a few weeks in prison for who-knows-what, other girls claiming that I had nearly died from a blood infection that I got from a fight but that I was 'so strong and brave' that I survived.

I hate these rumours. The thing is, you'd think rumours like these would make people hate me and try to avoid me, because I was clearly some kind of monster, but somehow it managed to have the opposite effect – I became more popular the more rumours there were, presumably because they all just added to the bad-boy image everyone thinks I am.

Sometimes, I wish everyone just knew the real me and treated me that way. Obviously, Dez, Elliot and Alex all did because they were my true friends, but they were the only ones.

I could try and deny all the rumours and just tell them all the truth, and in the past I had tried to do that, but no one ever believed me so I just started accepting them and not even bothering to deny them. It wasn't worth it. I knew the truth and my real friends knew the truth and that was all that mattered… right? And, I mean, it wasn't like my life was bad because of them, they actually made my life easier.

Still, rumours are rumours, and it was annoying that people only liked me because of the stories rather than because of me being me.

As I looked out the windows I could see everyone huddled in little groups, catching up and talking about their holidays. I saw some of them huddled closer, whispering and giggling, a clear sign that they were gossiping and talking about rumours. Three guesses at who those rumours were probably about.

I could see Dez, Elliot and Alex in our usual spot on the grass just by the steps up to the entrance. I took a deep breath and opened the door, wanting to get over to them quickly – I wasn't in the mood to try and confirm or deny rumours and I really wasn't in the mood to have girls throw themselves at me and try to flirt. Whenever they did that I felt disgusting.

I stepped out of the car and started to move towards the school, but I only made it about two steps before I was practically pinned to the car and surrounded by the 'popular' girls. To be more specific, Carrie, Tilly, Kimmy and Violet. Sure, they're all pretty good-looking, but they're also all complete bitches. Like mega-bitch level. God, how I hate them. They're ruthless bullies who trample anyone and anything that gets in their way, whilst flirting and doing anything necessary to get what they want. And apparently, they're all obsessed with me. Just my luck.

They stood in a close semi-circle around me, trapping me between them and my car door. I cursed to myself and prepared myself for more of their annoyingly obvious flirting attempts. I sighed as I realised there was no escape.

"Hey Austy." Tilly said in an over-sweet voice, fluttering her eyelashes. This alone made me cringe and want to throw up. "How was your summer? Did you miss me?" She asked in a flirtatious voice, still fluttering her eyelashes and obviously sticking her chest out, trying and utterly failing to try and be subtle as she did this.

I just shrugged my shoulders a little and looked straight past them at my friends, praying they would see me and come and help me out of this situation before I lost the will to live.

"Of course, you missed me more, right?" Violet added, trying to be seductive. She was stood directly on my right, and placed her left hand on my shoulder. I felt disgusted having even this much contact with her. I can't believe I went on a date with her once. As the memories of that night came flooding back to me I shivered in disgust at the memory. Of course, I had to shiver right then, as Violet obviously thought I was shivering in delight at the touch of her on my shoulder. _'Damn it!'_ I thought to myself. She giggled at this and placed her right hand on top of her left, so she was facing me and her face was only centimetres from the side of mine. I was in living hell. I still refused to say anything.

"No matter, you're back now." Carrie said. She placed a hand on my chest and I had to fight the instinct to literally grab her hand and push her off of me into the car next to mine. "Wow Austy, you get more attractive every summer." She continued, also trying to be sexy and seductive as she bit her bottom lip and fluttered her eyelashes in the same way Tilly had done. I know that I should be happy that she gave me such a compliment, but I just felt uncomfortable. "Even when I don't think it's possible for you to be any hotter, you manage it." She continued with a smirk.

"Agreed!" Kimmy said in her incredibly annoying high-pitched voice, and then she giggled. She does that – giggles after everything she says pretty much. "You've got the whole package Austy!" Another giggle.

"But so do I, don't I Austy?" Violet said, her hands still on my shoulders. Obviously, I didn't answer her and just smirked at how stupid the situation was. And of course, Violet took this as me agreeing with her. "Right answer, Austy!" She said over-enthusiastically before giggling like Kimmy. "We're both perfect!" Then she leaned her head on her hands on my shoulder. I wanted nothing more than to just shrug her off but I resisted.

Carrie, who had her hand on my chest still, started tracing her finger around on my t-shirt over my chest and around the rest of my torso, pulling down slightly on the v-neck of the t-shirt. I sighed, bored of their company and trying to think of a way to get away from them, and whaddya know, Carrie took this as a sigh of pleasure and giggled, continuing her actions.

Tilly, who was stood on my left, wrapped her arms around my left arm, which had my hand stuffed into my jeans pocket. She looked up at me and smiled over-sweetly.

"Oh, Austin." Kimmy said. "You're so lucky, I mean look at you, you could have any of us!" She giggled again and moved forward towards him slightly. "Especially me!" She added, speaking barely above a whisper, before winking and giggling again. I groaned in annoyance, and all the girls giggled thinking it was from pleasure.

I'm pretty sure this counts as sexual assault.

How long would this go on for?

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

The rest of our walk to school was fairly quiet, as we walked just making small talk to prevent silence. Neither of us were really paying too much attention to the walk, what we were saying or what the other was saying really. We were both still half-asleep, not used to getting up early again after the long summer break.

Because of this we were both a little surprised when we suddenly realised we were at school already when we walked through the gates.

As my eyes moved around the parking lot, I saw a familiar black Mercedes – the one that had sped past us when we met up and nearly caused my ear drums to burst. Looking closer, I saw the driver. Surprise surprise, it was none other than Austin Moon.

Ugh. Austin Moon. The school's bad boy. He was a renowned player and just generally seemed like not a very nice guy. I wasn't at all surprised to see that he was surrounded by the 'popular girls', Tilly, Carrie, Kimmy and Violet, and that they were practically throwing themselves at him. Violet had her head on his shoulder, Tilly had her arms wrapped around his, Carrie had her hand all over his torso and Kimmy stood there giggling and fluttering her eyes at him.

Those four girls were _horrible_. They were the nastiest people it was possible to come across, bullying innocent freshmen as well as people in our year. They'd even bullied me at the start of sophomore year, but I guess they got bored of me and moved onto their next target. No wonder they were so attracted to Austin, they all seemed like a perfect match for him.

Whilst this was happening though, he just… stood there. He just leant against his car door, looking bored and expressionless, just letting these girls jump all over him. He just seemed rude, not even acknowledging them as they did their best to get his attention. If he wasn't enjoying it he could at least say so, but I guess he just like the attention. Of course he did.

I feel a little bad just judging him like this, I've never actually spoken to him, but to be honest I have no desire to ever speak to him at all. He seems like a complete jerk the way he acts around school, he _looks_ like a stereotypical bad-boy, and some of the stories about him are unbelievable. I heard that during the summer, he went on holiday to England, got a girl there pregnant and then just left her without giving her any kind of support. I hope to God that isn't true, because even the thought of that just disgusts me! But, judging by his reputation, I wouldn't be surprised.

One thing I know is that it's best to avoid guys like him.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

I glanced down at Carrie's hand that was still moving around on my chest and looked at her wrist watch. The bell would ring in about 5 minutes, so at least I knew that at that point I could finally be free.

Suddenly, Tilly hopped back away from me and unhooked her arms from mine. Looking over at her, I saw a look of worry and disgust on her face. "Austin, is it true that your sister walked in on you and Emma having sex and it turned into a threesome?" All the girls gasped and moved away from me, staring in disgust.

"WHAT!?" I shouted back in shock – I've kind of got used to the rumours, but this one is even more ridiculous for three reasons: 1) I'm a virgin, believe it or not 2) Who the hell is Emma? 3) I don't even have a sister!

They all stood there for a few seconds, before rushing back to their previous positions, smiling and giggling. "It doesn't matter, Austy, I still love you!" Tilly said

"And me!" Added Carrie.

"And me!" Said Violet.

"And me!" Kimmy finished, giggling again.

"Girls, listen to me, that rumour _is NOT true_!" I said forcefully, I am sick to death of these rumours, and they're just getting worse.

"Of course we believe you Austy!" Violet said as she continued to lean her head on my shoulder, even though it was completely obvious that she didn't.

I'd had enough of them for one day, so without wasting another second I just pushed past them all and walked away. I felt horrible for being so rude towards them, but at the same time I was just over it. "Bye, Austy, see you later!" I heard them calling and giggling behind me, and I groaned in frustration as I quickly walked towards my real friends.

"Hey guys." I said as I reached them.

"'Sup Austin, how's it going man?" Alex asked, giving me a fist-bump.

"Horrible, you know how it is on the first day. Rumours everywhere." I replied in an annoyed tone, thinking back to the one Tilly had said.

"Oh yeah, I've heard some stunners already today." Dez replied grimly.

"Yeah, me too. Some of the stuff people can come up with is ridiculous." Elliot added in the same tone of voice.

See, my friends all knew that the rumours were a bunch of lies, and that's all that mattered really, because I would never even see 95% of the people in my year again after high school, so I simply had to endure them until then. Honestly, anyone who believed those rumours wasn't worth my time.

We all walked up the steps into the school and separated off to go to our lockers. Thankfully I could stay with Dez, cos his locker was right next to mine. I really didn't want to be on my own, because when I am I just get swarmed with girls flirting and giving me their numbers, telling me to call them and it just drives me crazy.

Normally, at this point, we would be expected to be catching up on how each other's summers were, as we walked through the hallway to our lockers. But, for us, this would be completely pointless, considering how we already knew having spent pretty much every day hanging out.

On the whole, the summer had actually been pretty… uneventful. We'd just done normal teenage guy stuff really, hanging out, going to the park, playing sports (although Dez was pretty useless at this), a few parties here and there, hanging by the pool in Dez's back yard (that guy lives in a mansion, it's crazy), that kind of thing.

I can't say I was particularly _happy_ to be back in school, because… well, it's school. But at the same time it was kind of a relief just knowing I had something to do, I was starting to get a bit bored and everything was just repetitive.

As we continued our walk to our lockers, talking about something random (this was Dez after all) I could still feel every single pair of female eyes on me. As I looked around, I received countless winks and flirty smiles. I was getting even more attention than I normally do, and I can't really say I liked it. I mean, there's always a girl or two doing this as I walk around, but today it had hit a new level. It was weird.

After what seemed like an eternity, and a thousand suggestive looks later, we _finally_ got to our lockers. I got out my folders and notebooks for my first two lessons so that I wouldn't have to come back to my locker in between. Dez wasn't in my homeroom, so I said goodbye before setting off in that direction.

Once I got to homeroom, I took my usual seat in the back corner of the room, trying to draw as little attention to myself as possible. I sat there quite happily in my own little world, waiting for the bell to ring and the day to officially begin.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

"Can you see them?" Trish asked me as we stood there in the parking lot looking for 'the girls', Trish's other friends who I tolerated.

"Hm… hmmm?" I mumbled, snapping out of the daze I didn't realise I was in as I stood looking over at Austin and the populars.

"I _said_ can you see the girls?" Trish asked more sternly.

I glanced around and saw them all huddled by the steps. "Yeah, there they are." I said, pointing to them.

We walked over and all greeted each other in the normal way, asking questions we didn't care about the answers to and giving each other hugs.

"So, are you guys excited for junior year?" Piper asked as we all walked up the steps to the door. She was nice enough, pretty as hell and easy to talk to. The reply she got was a bunch of sighs and groans mixed with a few mumbles of how it should be better than last year. When we realised how ridiculous we sounded all of us started laughing gently.

"Ooh, have you guys seen Austin yet today?" Brooke spoke out. This was a typical thing for Brooke to say and I was surprised it took her this long to bring it up to be perfectly honest. She is… borderline psychotic, I would say, and she pretty much stalks Austin.

All the other girls except Trish and I swooned slightly at the thought of him, causing me to giggle a little, but I tried to not make it obvious.

"I swear he gets hotter all the time…" Piper said, clearly in a fantasy world where she was with Austin as she stared into space.

There was no denying it, Austin is certainly a _very_ attractive guy, with his perfect blonde hair and deep brown eyes, but I couldn't honestly say I understood what all the hype is about, there are loads of attractive guys in our year, plus why would anyone want to be with him if he's as bad as the rumours say?

"But have you guys heard the latest rumour?" Cassidy, the strawberry-blonde girl, said. _'This should be good.'_ I thought to myself. "Well apparently he wanted to have sex with Amelia, but they didn't have a condom, so instead they used an _empty Doritos bag_!"

"Eeeeewwwwww!" All of us said at once, scrunching up our faces in disgust. "That's _horrible_!" I said, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Although…" Cassidy said. I wondered what she was going to say, how could she possibly defend that? "He must have really liked her if he was willing to do that just to please her. That's actually sorta sweet." She said.

I felt my jaw literally hit the ground. Was she being serious?

Everyone else (apart from Trish) seemed to agree with Cassidy, though, and they all nodded slightly and started swooning again.

"I heard he was with Violet, though." Brooke said, a little disappointed.

"No, Violet's single I thought…" Piper countered.

"I thought she was with Aaron…" Cassidy thought out loud.

"No she dumped Aaron yesterday." Piper said.

"Wait, wasn't Aaron going out with Olivia?" Brooke.

"No that ended a couple of months ago." Cassidy.

"Hang on, Violet said she got together with Austin last night." Brooke.

"But isn't Austin with Carrie?" Piper.

"No they dated for like 3 days last year." Brooke.

This is just a standard conversation for the girls, and it drives me _insane_! I get this daily! And as you can see, me and Trish don't really say a lot, we just listen to them talking at a million miles per hour, I can barely understand a word they say.

I think they eventually came to the conclusion that Austin is single and that Violet made it up, although to be perfectly honest I'm not entirely sure, their gossiping is like a foreign language to me.

We eventually had to split up to go to our lockers, somewhat to my relief, and Trish's was right next to mine so we walked together. I got out my folders for my first two lessons whilst Trish did the same and then we walked to homeroom (we're in the same for that, too).

When we got there I took my usual seat in the front row and Trish took the seat next to me. We were still a few minutes early so there were only a couple of other people in the room, although I didn't really see who they were. There was someone sat by the window and someone right in the back corner.

When we sat down I pulled my songbook out of my bag and turned to a new page, doodling and writing odd phrases that came into my head as I made light conversation with Trish, waiting for the bell to go.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

I was sat there waiting, and there was about 5 minutes left before the bell rang. I was just thinking about how all the rumours started, trying to think about where it all began. I couldn't really remember, but I'm pretty sure the whole bad-boy image thing started about halfway through freshman year…

I was interrupted from my thoughts when the door opened. Looking up out of curiosity to see who it was, I instantly recognised them as the two girls I nearly offered a lift to this morning. At least now I knew where I thought I knew them from. They were in my homeroom, even though I don't think I had any lessons with either of them.

I started thinking back to when I sped past them. Should I have stopped and offered them that lift? Maybe if I had and they realised that I was actually a nice guy, then at least that would be two less people who believed the stories and I'd be on my way to completely clearing my name. But then I remembered how it wouldn't matter because there'd always be someone who didn't believe it who would start another rumour, and the whole thing is just one vicious cycle.

I sighed in annoyance and rested my head on the table, deciding that I should just accept my life how it is and be happy with how it was. I'd had enough – everyone thought I was a bad boy and treated me like one, so why the hell should I even bother trying to act differently if nobody's ever gonna believe it? Screw it, if they wanted me to act like a jerk to people then I would.

I instantly hate myself more.

. . . . .

 **Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! We got our first insight into what the rumours really are and a look at Ally's current impression of Austin!**

 **The next chapter will be more of their first day. I was originally gonna do the whole day in one chapter, but as I wrote I realised it would be a bit too long so I should just split it into two, which then became three!**

 **Please remember to review, favourite and follow, it really means a lot!**

 **Catch you later!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **I've tried to put in as many different POVs as I can, even though it is mostly just Austin and Ally. Sorry if you feel like it's a little jumpy, or you'd prefer it to be more from just one person's perspective, maybe in a later chapter I'll do them more from just one POV, but for this chapter it does change between them quite a lot. Sorry if it seems confusing but hopefully it makes it more interesting seeing it from different viewpoints!**

 **Also, in these chapters on the first day, I am detailing most of the lessons quite heavily… sorry if this seems boring but don't worry, I won't do this every time :) I just wanted to detail it more since it's the first day. Okay, enough rambling!**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Three: The First Day (Part 2 of 3)**

 _Austin's POV_

Homeroom was eventually over. It felt like the longest homeroom _ever_ , my thoughts were constantly about all the rumours, they're just inescapable!

As soon as it was over I was the first one out the door, even though I sit in the back corner, the furthest point possible from the door. Not because I was eager to get to my next lesson, no! I had AP French – I _hate_ French, and it was my weakest subject, so I needed as much time _doing_ French as I could get. So yes, I guess it's true that I got out of homeroom quickly so that I could get to my next lesson quickly too.

As I rushed to the door, I went past the desk of the two girls from earlier. They were both very smiley and happy, no doubt laughing about the latest rumour they heard – I dread to think what it could be. But as I walked past I made eye contact for a split second with the petite, brunette one. I could instantly tell she hated me just from that mini moment of eye contact. Thanks again to the stories.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

Homeroom had just ended, and I was gathering my stuff to leave. Me and Trish had AP Spanish together first period, and we were laughing about how much the Spanish teacher, Señora Gomez hates Trish's guts despite her being the best at Spanish in the class.

As we stood up with our bags, Austin was passing our desk (we have desks of two), heading towards the door at break-neck speed. Doubtless to try and get in as much time as possible making out with some cheerleader before he had to get to his next lesson. If he even went to his next lesson, that is.

As he walked past, we made very brief, and I mean _very_ brief, eye contact. But within that tiny moment, in his eyes I could see… hope? Warmth? Kindness? _HUH_? This is _Austin_ , what's going on? But then, as quickly as I had seen those hints of positivity, all the emotion in his eyes seemed to suddenly turn to anger and misery… yes, that's more what I expected to see, but it was just weird how quickly it had changed to that.

Or maybe I had just got it wrong and never seen the positive emotions in the first place. Yeah, that's more likely. I mean, this is _Austin Moon_ we're talking about here, the guy who gets girls halfway around the world pregnant only to never speak to them again.

Although, deep down, part of me hopes that maybe I hadn't imagined it, and that there was a possibility he had the potential to be a nice guy really…

No, stupid thought. Stupid Ally.

. . . . .

 _Trish's POV_

"Okay, Ally, you ready to get to Spanish? Señora Gomez will kill us if we're late, me especially!" I said jokingly as I stood up and put on my backpack.

When I got no response I looked up, to see Ally standing there with her eyes glazed over, staring into space, seemingly deep in thought. "Ally?" I tried again. "Ally." I said a little more forcefully, waving my hand in front of her face. Still nothing. "ALLY!" I shouted, poking her stomach forcefully.

Ally shrieked a little and jumped, but at least it had worked. "God, Trish, thanks for the heart attack!" She said, breathing heavily.

"Oh shut up." I said jokingly. "What were you thinking about? You were really out of it just then!" I asked, curious. Ally was known to often be thinking, but I'd never seen her go into a trance like that before.

"Oh, uh, nothing!" Ally stuttered entirely unconvincingly. "Just, err…" She hesitated, clearly trying to think of a cover-up story. I was trying not to laugh. "A song lyric!" She said a little too enthusiastically. She was so obviously lying, but I decided I could have some fun with this.

"A song lyric?" I asked as we started to walk out of the room and down the corridor.

"Uh-huh!" She said, again over-enthusiastically and with a massive, clearly fake smile on her face.

"Alright then," I said, glad my plan had worked. "let's hear it."

A look of panic instantly swept over her face and I was seriously trying not to burst out laughing. "What!?" She stammered.

"Let's hear this new song lyric. It must be really deep and meaningful for you to have looked like that when you thought of it."

"Uh… errr… ummm… I…" She was stuttering like there was no tomorrow and I couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing.

"Calm down, Ally, I _know_ you weren't really thinking of a song lyric." She looks visibly relieved but still on edge, knowing I wasn't just going to let the subject drop. Smart girl. "So what _were_ you thinking of?"

"Trish, it's nothing, it really doesn't matter." She said.

"Great, then it's not a problem that I'll know." I put an exaggerated smile on my face. "Seriously, I don't get why you're like this, just tell me."

"Well…" She began. "Do you think it's _at all_ possible that Austin Moon isn't really as bad as the rumours say?"

Wow. I was _not_ expecting that.

"Err… I… well I don't know." I stammer. "I mean, the way he walks around the school like he owns the place, the way he is with girls, it wouldn't surprise me if the stories were true." I start. "Besides, think of _how many_ rumours and stories there are. I mean, if a story isn't true, there's only ever really one or two stories about the person. But Austin has _hundreds_ , so I guess why would he have so many if none of them are true?"

"Yeah, I guess…" Ally says thoughtfully.

"Don't get me wrong, I doubt _all_ of them are true. I really _hope_ some of them aren't true. But I do think it would be weird that there are this many without some sort of true basis." I say. Honestly, from what I've seen of the guy, I _hate_ him, he seems like a total jerk! I mean, I've never really spoken to him, but I've seen him around and I definitely just get that vibe from him, ya know? "Anyway, where's this come from all of a sudden?" I ask Ally.

"It's just… I guess I can't believe the stories either. And I've never spoken to him, so I feel bad just basing my entire opinion of him off some high school stories, without ever having given him a chance to clear his name." I suppose Ally has a point here… "I mean, he definitely seems to be like the stories, but then I've only ever seen him a handful of times. I don't know, it's weird."

We walk in silence for a few seconds, approaching the Spanish room. "It doesn't really matter, I've never really had any lessons with him and I _doubt_ that's gonna change this year. He doesn't look like the kind of guy to do AP Music, ya know?" Ally finishes as we walk through the classroom door and take our seats at our desk about halfway back in the room.

"Yeah, true, we'll probably barely see him around anyway." I add. I certainly hope that's true, because if he's as bad as they say, I don't want me or Ally to have anything to do with him.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

I stroll into French and sit at my normal seat in the middle of the classroom. I've had this French teacher, Madame Grant, for my whole time at High School, and I think she's gradually starting to like me a bit more, but she can be a complete bitch when she wants to be, especially to those who aren't good at French and even more so to those who don't even try.

She's quite an old woman, with slowly greying, short, brown hair, a fair amount of wrinkles and glasses. She looks almost like a young grandmotherly figure, although, trust me, you wouldn't want a grandmother like her when she's in a bad mood! Her demeanour can go from laughing and getting along with the class to a nuclear bomb of rage within half a second. But I've just got used to it all now.

I will never forget the funniest moment to ever happen in relation to Madame Grant and her teaching. One time, when I shared French with Dez and Alex, we had arrived at French a few minutes earlier than normal, so we stood outside the room in a small huddle talking. I asked Alex, who was standing with his back to the door, if he was looking forward to our lesson. His reply was "No! Who would ever look forward to a lesson with Madame Grant!?" Well, at the _exact_ moment he said that, who should walk out the door of the room and past us than Madame Grant herself. Luckily, I don't think she heard him, but the second he saw her all the colour drained from his face, and me and Dez were laughing our heads off about it for like 20 minutes. We've never let Alex forget that moment.

"Bonjour, la classe!" She begins in a cheerful tone. I hope she'll stay that way for the whole lesson…

The lesson's over, and Madame Grant was in a surprisingly good mood for the whole lesson. Probably just because it was the first lesson of the school year, so the stress and annoyance of constant teaching hasn't got to her just yet.

Luckily for me, my AP French class was not a very large class, and none of the jocks or popular girls were in it (surprise, surprise) so I could actually work properly. I _need_ to get a good grade in French – it's the one condition my parents have for me applying to MUNY; that I have to get an A in a foreign language. I've been getting Ds and Cs most of the time through High School, but I _am_ improving, and I should get that A by the end of Senior Year.

Okay, first lesson of junior year done, and only 5 more today. Next up: AP World History.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

Spanish passed fairly uneventfully. It was mostly just a sort of introduction to what we would be doing this year and all the normal, boring first lesson of the year stuff.

My next class was AP World History, which was… let's just say, _not_ the most interesting of subjects. Especially with the teacher I have on my schedule – Mr Owens. I've never had him as my teacher before, but everyone says he's _awful_. Great.

I don't share this with Trish, so I give her a quick hug goodbye before heading off to the History department of the school.

I walk into the classroom and I'm not really friends with anyone in this lesson, so I just go and sit in the front row on the side by the window overlooking the playing field. I get out all my pens and paper along with my folder before putting my bag on the floor. We have a couple of minutes before class starts so I pull out my songbook, as I always do when I have nothing else to do, and start doodling on a page in the back.

The final bell rings and I put my songbook away and look up. Just as the bell is ringing, Austin walks through the door. _'Huh? What is_ _Austin_ _doing in my AP World History class? In fact, what's he doing in an AP class at all?_ ' I thought to myself as he went and sat in the only empty chair in the back row. I'm a little confused, I didn't expect to see him in any of my classes, but then I scold myself for ever assuming that he couldn't be smart just because of his reputation, and I again feel bad for judging him. But still, he doesn't exactly look like he _wants_ to be in this class…

My thoughts are interrupted by Mr Owens standing up and moving around to stand in front of his desk. "Okay class, welcome to World History. I am your teacher for the year, Mr Owens." Wow, umm… he has the most _boring, monotonous_ voice I have _ever_ heard! It makes me sleepy just hearing it! _'Damn it'_ I think to myself, _'I have a whole year of this?'_

His teaching style matches his voice – dull, dull, dull, dull, dull! Did I mention he was boring? He just stood there for the whole lesson talking at us about the course and what we'd do during the year. I thought I was losing the will to live. Me, Ally! Me, Ally Dawson losing focus and being bored in a lesson! That has never happened before! I glance around the room, and it seems like I'm not the only one who feels this way, since everyone is leaning on their desk, or their elbows, or is just staring into space.

My eyes land on Austin, who, to my surprise, seems to be _trying_ to pay attention, judged by the way he is not leaning on anything and is looking straight at Mr Owens. Either he actually was paying attention or he was a _very_ good actor. Probably the second option. He'd probably learnt over the years how to perfect his 'I'm paying attention' look to trick the teacher into thinking he is when he's not. Or am I just judging him too harshly again?

I realise that by thinking about this, I've actually _not_ been paying attention to the teacher! When I realise this I instantly turn back to the front and tune back in to what he's saying. I'm thankful when I realise that I haven't missed any important information, but I am immediately bored again as I listen to his voice.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

Man, I am _dying_ in this lesson. I can seriously feel myself getting older as I sit here listening to this guy telling us about the "exciting year of World History ahead of us". Ha! Funny joke! _Nothing_ Mr Owens says could ever be _remotely_ 'exciting' based on the way he's talking to us.

His voice doesn't seem to have _any_ understanding of pitch. Every word he says is just all on one level, his voice never gets any higher or lower, louder or quieter, and it's just _torture_ to listen to! Seriously, Siri on my phone sounds more exciting than this teacher, and that is saying something!

I'm trying my hardest to pay attention, I really am, but it's nearly impossible to do that listening to this! He could at least walk around a bit, write on the board, just do _something_ aside from just stand there absolutely still as a statue and talk in his boring voice.

It seems I'm not the only one with this viewpoint, either. I'm sat in the back row, so I can see everyone else in the room, and there is only _one_ other person who isn't leaning on the desk or on their elbow. I don't know exactly who it is, I can't really see them properly, they're just in my peripheral vision, and I don't want to turn to look at them because I'm trying desperately to focus on Mr Owens.

Mercifully, the bell rings signalling the end of the lesson. _Thank God!_ I actually thought I was about to die!

We've had two lessons, so we now have our morning break, which is basically 20 minutes of free time. But I have free period third anyway, so I essentially just have extended break.

I'm in no rush to get out this time, because being on break basically means exposure. It gives the popular girls (and regular girls, actually) a chance to jump all over me again, the jocks a chance to act like they're my best friends and persuade me to join the football team (which I would never do, I hate football) and everyone else the chance to judge me and spread more rumours.

I slowly pick up my backpack and folders and head out the door, into the wilderness.

First I head over to my locker to put my folders and bag in it, after all I won't need them for a while. Once that's done, I head out onto the yard and meet with Dez, Alex and Elliot in our usual spot sat on the grass under the shade of the big oak tree.

"Hey man, how were your first two?" Dez asked as I approached and sat down. I was the last one there.

I mumbled in response. "Same as always, I guess."

"I heard you got stuck with Mr Owens for World History. Unlucky." Elliot said jokingly and everyone smiled.

"Seriously, how is it physically possible for a person to be _so_ boring?" I say. "One lesson and I've already had enough of him for life. It's gonna be a long year." I continue.

"You got that right." Dez says. "You had any lessons with the populars yet?" 'The populars' is how we referred to Violet, Tilly, Kimmy and Carrie. The guys all knew about their… obsession… with me – obviously, who didn't? – and my whole bad boy image, and they took great delight in teasing me about it regularly.

"No, thankfully!" I say. "And I hope I never will! You know I can barely stand 5 minutes with them, imagine an entire _lesson_!"

"Austin, you're so lucky! You're constantly hounded and adored by the _hottest_ girls in the school! And pretty much every other girl, for that matter." Alex said. He had always been a little jealous of my popularity and especially my… appeal to the ladies.

"Trust me Alex, it's not _half_ as enjoyable as you think it'd be." I replied.

"I dunno… let's just say I'd be willing to trade places with you for a day any time." He said, smirking slightly.

"No deal." I say back with a smile. "The girls may be annoying but my life is still pretty damn sweet." _'Apart from the rumours'_ I think to myself but don't say it out loud. The guys know they annoy me and we all agree to not bring them up.

"Apart from the rumours!" Dez says. Ah, maybe not then. "Oops." He instantly says and drops his head and the rest of us laugh.

"Yeah, I guess." I say calmly. "But I don't let them get to me." That is a _major_ lie, the rumours affect me deeply, but I don't let it show. I don't want to burden them all with it even more than I already do.

"Good," Elliot continued. "we all know the truth and that's all that matters."

I smile at this. I really do have a great group of friends to support me through all this, even when it gets really tough and annoying. Moments like these I'm really glad I am who I actually am and not the bad boy everyone thinks I am. If I was, I wouldn't have the great friends that I do.

"Okay, I'm gonna go for a smoke, anyone else?" Alex says, standing up. Smoking is strictly banned on school grounds, but all the smokers just go to a small corner of the school grounds where nobody can see them to smoke. I don't smoke – never have, never will – and I'm just glad that Alex doesn't do it around me, I find it disgusting to even see someone else smoking.

"Yeah, I will." Elliot says, standing up too. Elliot doesn't smoke often, like Alex, but every now and then he will. I've tried many times to convince them both to quit, but I know that in reality it's not that easy. I just hope that they will eventually, before they ruin themselves forever.

Dez doesn't smoke either, so he stays seated with me and we say goodbye to the other two as they stroll off in the direction of the unofficial 'smoking area'. They'll be lucky if they're not caught one of these days, although part of me hopes they do get caught so that there's less chance they can do it again.

"So, Dez, what's new?" I say, awaiting whatever weird and crazy response he can give.

"Not much, I'm building my gingerbread family a new house tonight, Benjamin's been bugging me about it for ages. You wanna help?" He offers. In case you're wondering, no Benjamin is not Dez's brother, he's one of the gingerbread men. Yep, you heard it right. Dez _actually_ believes that they're alive and a real family to him. Weird, I know, but that's just Dez.

"Um… no thanks." I reply. It doesn't actually sound too bad – making a gingerbread house – but I know that Dez is real serious when it comes to his gingerbread men and houses, and if I do even one thing even slightly wrong when we're making it then it's all gonna end in disaster. "My parents are forcing me to help them out at the store." I lie.

My parents own 'Moon's Mattress Kingdom' in the mall. They are the self-proclaimed 'King' and 'Queen' of the store, and they're always trying to persuade their 'Little Prince' (that's me if you hadn't guessed) to work there with them instead of pursuing music. I always protest, but now they force me to work two hours there with them after school every Friday. Yippee (I hope you could feel the sarcasm there).

"Ah, still pushing the whole 'Little Prince' thing?" Dez questions, smirking at me.

"You know it." I reply. "They're just desperate for me to work there instead of going into music. That's why they put the whole 'A in a foreign language' thing in place – they don't want me to go to MUNY so they tried to stop it. But I am _not_ working there!" I say, starting to work myself up into a state, and Dez notices this.

"Easy buddy, just breathe, stay calm." He says gently, and I do start to calm down.

We faintly hear the bell go off in the school, meaning the morning break is over.

"Well, I better get to Geometry." Dez says, standing up. "You got a free now?" I nod in response. "Alright buddy, see you at lunch." He says, giving me a fist bump before heading off into the school.

I sigh and lean back against the tree, deciding to spend a bit more time here, enjoying the peace and quiet.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

The break time passes fairly quickly and uneventfully, just the normal girly gossip that we always have, nothing interesting. I don't really pay much attention, to be honest, I've never really been interested in gossip and other people's private lives. I couldn't really care less what other people get up to in their own time.

The bell goes and everyone stands up to head off to their lessons, but I have a free period, and I decide just to go for a short walk around for a while, enjoying the bright sunshine and warmth. I hug Trish goodbye and begin my walk.

I head out across the yard over to the grass, where there are more benches and a few trees. Marino High is actually a really nice school; the rooms were nice, the facilities were pretty good, they had a _great_ music department (which of course is essential for me) and then there's all this green space outside.

I walk along the pebble stone path that winds around the green space and heads over in the direction of the playing field. It feels like I'm walking through a park or something, what with the quiet, the green grass, the trees, the warmth and sunshine that we get in Miami… I feel completely peaceful and happy.

As I'm walking along the path, a few trees away I see none other than Austin sitting with his back against a big old oak tree. He has sunglasses on so I can't tell if he's sleeping or not and whether he's seen me. But then, even if he had seen me it's not like he'd try to interact with me or anything.

Then I wondered if he actually was meant to have a free period now or whether he was just skipping class. Judging by his reputation, I'd have to say he was skipping, but for some reason I had a feeling he was on a free period. I like to have a pretty big amount of faith in humanity, even in people as apparently vile as him.

I just continue walking towards him. I'm not going to make an effort to speak to him or anything, there's no point. Plus the fact that I don't even know if he's awake. I'd hate to wake him up.

Just as I'm walking past him, I hear his voice. "Hey there."

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

I love times like this. Times just sat on my own, enjoying the quiet and the Miami heat, as I sat under the shade of the oak tree just relaxing. I know it would be wise to spend my free period catching up on work or doing extra work, but right now I'm too relaxed to even think about that. My leather jacket is off and at my side and my sunglasses are on.

I hear the crunch of feet walking on the pebble path that goes directly past the tree I'm sat against, and panic that it's one of the populars, here to try and flirt and therefore _ruin_ my peaceful time. I'm wearing my sunglasses, so hopefully they'll think I'm asleep and just walk straight past.

I don't turn my head, that would give me away, but I look out of the corner of my eye down the path at who's walking my way.

Thankfully, it's not one of the populars, or one of the girls who usually throws themselves at me. It's the petite girl from homeroom. She seems really nice, even though I've never spoken to her. Last time I decided not to say anything to her because I assumed she'd just believe the rumours, and I still thought that to a certain extent, but I thought I might as well be polite and friendly towards her.

As she walks past me, I speak out to her. "Hey there." She jumps a little at first, I guess she thought I was asleep or just didn't think I would say anything to her. I chuckle and continue. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

She still doesn't say anything, just stands there a little awkwardly, smiling softly. "Are you gonna say anything?" I ask gently, a little bored of the silence and realising that I was stupid and that she's probably saying nothing because she believes the rumours and so hates me.

"S-S-Sorry!" She stammers out, and I smirk a little. She's definitely nervous, so she definitely believes the rumours. The smirk leaves my face at this thought. "Um… hi." She says.

"I'm Austin." I say standing up and holding out my hand.

"I know." She says, looking at my outstretched hand but not shaking it. I wasn't expecting that response and I can tell she didn't mean to see it based on the panicked expression on her face. I smile and chuckle slightly. "Err, I-I mean that I… I've just h-heard about you around s-school I-I guess." She stutters.

I chuckle again, dropping my hand as I realise she's not gonna shake it. "Of course you have." I say. "And your name is?"

"A-Ally." She replies. Ally. I like that name.

There are a couple of seconds of silence as we both stand there. I take this time to take a better look at her, I've never really seen her up close properly.

She's actually a very pretty girl, she has completely natural beauty and she knows just how to put on a very small amount of make-up just to exaggerate her perfect features even better. Her hair looks good down and straightened as it is today, but if I remember correctly I've seen her around with gently curly hair.

Her dress sense is good, too. The light pink dress stops at just the right point on her legs and is complemented by the belt and cardigan. Like I said before she has a petite figure, but it suits her. Overall, a good looking girl.

I don't have a crush on her or anything, I mean I've only just met her and barely know her - hell, I don't even know her name - but I think I'd like to get to know her better.

"So, what are you doing out here?" I ask casually, still leaning back against the tree.

"Uh… I have a free period now." She says, timidly. She's still nervous. That's to be expected, though. "What about you? Are you on a free period or are you just skipping class?" She seems to gain a little confidence as she says this in an almost sassy tone.

"Ah, you believe the rumours." I say, disappointment clear in my voice. She blushes and starts to stammer a response but I stop her. "I don't blame you, I would too. There's some pretty crazy stuff said about me." She smiles gently and nods in agreement. "But I will have you know that I am _also_ on free period." I say, smirking. "Anyways, I need to go and get my stuff for my next lesson, so if you'll excuse me." I say leaning down and picking up my jacket. "It was nice meeting you. Enjoy the rest of your walk." And with that I turn and walk across the grass back over to the school.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

What just happened? Did I actually just have a conversation with _Austin Moon_? I turn and continue my walk down the path, deep in thought about what had just happened.

Austin seemed… nice, I guess. He was perfectly polite and kind. I wasn't though. I was internally slapping myself repeatedly – I was so rude to him! I refused his handshake (but that was out of shock, might I add), I barely spoke to him, and I went all sassy on him when I did speak! I'm such an idiot! He probably thinks I'm a complete bitch now. I feel like one too.

It's weird. He didn't directly say the rumours were false, but he didn't confirm them to be true either. I don't know whether I believe them or not. Based on how he acted, he didn't seem like the kind of jerk to get a girl pregnant and never speak to her again…

But then he just suddenly left, without giving me much of a chance to speak, but he was polite at the same time… this was all so confusing!

I realised the time and headed back towards the school too, walking through the doors just as the bell rang.

I had Chemistry next with Trish, and I couldn't decide whether or not to tell her about my little 'meeting' with Austin. I decided that I might as well, she may have been able to make better sense of it all. We would have time to talk about it during our experiment anyways, we were _always_ lab partners and we did pretty well, too (probably because I did most of the work – sorry Trish!).

I walk into the science lab and take a seat in the middle of the room, and Trish walks in a couple of minutes later and takes the seat next to me. "Hey Ally!" She says cheerily as she sits down and pulls out her folder.

"Hey Trish, how was AP Theatre?" That's another thing, Trish was an _amazing_ actress, and she helped me through my Theatre course last year.

"Good as ever." Trish replied smiling. "How was your free?"

"It was… interesting, I guess." Trish raised her eyebrows as I said this.

"Interesting?" She asked.

"I'll explain during the experiment." I say before we turn back to the front as our teacher, Mr Hunt, stands up. She nods in response before also turning to the front.

"Okay class," Mr Hunt began. I'd never had him before either. "welcome to AP Chemistry, I am Mr Hunt I will be teaching you this year. Today we're going to do a fairly basic experiment just to get an idea of your abilities. I have already decided your lab partners…" This was a shock - normally _we_ got to choose our partners. _'Please put me with Trish!'_ I think to myself over and over. "Whoever you are paired with today will be your lab partner for the entire year. So, we'll have Sarah and Dylan, Molly and Anne, David and Amelia, Trish and Ryan…" Both our mouths drop open as we realise we're not together. "Julia and Freddie, Austin and Ally."

"What!?" I say in shock. I didn't even see him in here when I walked in! I turn to Trish and she is wide-eyed and open-mouthed. "I'm with Austin?" I say quietly, and she nods slowly.

Trish's partner, Ryan, walks over at this point and I pick up my stuff and turn around to see Austin in the back row, looking… well I didn't really know.

I slowly walk over to his desk at the back and put my stuff down next to him…

. . . . .

 **Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Austin and Ally have finally met, and now they have to work together in Chemistry for the whole year!**

 **The next chapter will be the rest of their first day. Sorry if you find the sort of detail boring, but I'm trying my best!**

 **Please remember to review, favourite and follow, it really means a lot!**

 **Catch you later!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **From now on, chapters of this story will be posted EVERY MONDAY, so make sure to keep checking back!**

 **Also, a huge thank you to everyone who's reviewed, favourited and followed so far, you guys rock :)**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Four: The First Day (Part 3 of 3)**

 _Austin's POV_

"What?" I hear Ally say a few rows forward.

That was… unexpected. Normally we get to choose our own lab partners, it's been that way since Freshman year!

And now I have to work with Ally? That girl hates me. She just hates me. I can tell. She refused my offer of a handshake, she was clearly uncomfortable talking to me, and she obviously just believes all the rumours about me. There's a reason I walked away from her earlier.

This is gonna be an awkward year of Chemistry lessons.

I see her pick up her stuff and slowly walk over to me. Great, she's trying to waste time walking so she doesn't have to talk to me. Wait, am I being too paranoid about this? I mean she's just walking. Man, this is what the stories have done to me; I over-think everything convinced that people don't like me! But then why would anyone like me the way I'm talked about?

I hear a gentle thud as she puts her bag down on the floor next to mine under the desk. She slowly walks around and sits down next to me. Cue the painfully awkward silence.

We sit there in silence for about a minute, neither of us knowing what to say. I wish I knew what she was thinking.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

This silence is killing me. Why won't he say something? He seemed so polite earlier… what changed?

Oh, I get it. His reputation. He doesn't mind talking to me in private, but if anyone sees bad boy Austin Moon talking to nerdy dork Ally Dawson (or Dorkson as I am sometimes called) then his popularity goes down the drain. What a jerk.

I eventually sigh, deciding that I'll have to talk to him at some point, so if he's too afraid of his image to talk first then I guess I've got nothing to lose. "Umm… hi." I say quietly.

"Hey." Comes his sharp, one word answer.

"Okay… is everything alright?" I ask to be polite, noticing his clipped tone.

"Psh, yeah, why wouldn't it be?" He replies quickly, retaining the slightly harsh tone.

"Oh, I don't know…" I say timidly, now feeling nervous because of how he's being so rude and dismissive. This is _not_ the way I had hoped our conversation would go. "I was just trying to be nice." I continue meekly.

"Yeah, well don't bother being concerned. My life rules. I'm Austin Moon." He says, before grabbing the instructions we've been given for our first experiment.

"Of course, how could I forget. How stupid of me." I say in a somewhat sarcastic tone, before also looking at the experiment paper.

It's instructions for a fairly simple chemical reaction and I have no problem speeding through the written part of it. I turn to face Austin – if his reputation is true, I'm guessing he'll be needing a bit of help. Looks like I'll be doing all the work again.

When I look down at his page, though, he's already finished the written work and is just sitting there waiting for me to finish. Huh?

"You're done?" I ask, trying but completely failing to keep the shock out of my voice. He looks almost hurt when I say that, before covering it.

"Yeah…" He says in an 'obviously' tone.

"Wha… bu… how did you cheat? I only just finished!" I instantly regret asking this as I realise how horrible that is to say.

"You think I'm really dumb, don't you? You're just like the rest, immediately believing the rumours and assuming I'm just some dumb bad boy who cheats his way through school. Well let me tell you something, there's a reason I'm in AP classes, and I find the fact that you think I'd cheat insulting. Not everything you hear is true, you know." And with that he gets up and walks out of the room.

I feel so bad for judging him, but his little outburst just then doesn't really help his case if he's trying to persuade me he's a nice guy.

Everyone turns to look at me as they see Austin storm out of the room, and instantly my stage fright hits me like a brick wall. I grab a lock of my hair and start chewing it, a really bad habit I have when I get nervous.

I feel myself start to blush and look down, starting to work on the practical side of the experiment to try and distract myself from the guilt I am feeling.

. . . . .

 _Trish's POV_

Umm… what just happened? One minute I'm "helping" my partner – Ryan I think his name is – do the experiment, next thing I know Austin's storming past us and out the door.

I turn to look at Ally to try and gain some sort of understanding, but it seems everyone else in the room has the same idea as we all seeming look her way in unison. Great, that's just gonna set off her stage fright.

And whaddya know, she immediately puts her hair in her mouth. We'd _just_ started to get rid of that habit!

I wonder what could have set Austin off, or whether he's just being the jerk that his reputation implies…

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

Great. Just great. Now she _definitely_ hates me. Why did I snap at her? All she did was ask me if I was finished. Oh wait, no she didn't, she was _surprised_ that I was finished because she's just like everyone else who just believes all the rumours and assumes I'm just some dumb player, and then decides to make it worse by asking _how_ (not even if, how!) I cheated from her.

And then I chose to storm out. This will probably land me in detention – and it's still the first day!

I'm outside for about 5 minutes before I've calmed down and I'm willing to go and try to sort things out with Ally. I feel really bad for having a go at her and I know she probably hates me even more now, but I still need to apologise.

As I re-enter the room everyone stops and stares at me. Except Ally. She takes a brief glance up, but as soon as she sees that it's me she just looks back down at the experiment. Yep, she hates me.

Mr Hunt just stares at me with one eyebrow raised, clearly waiting for an explanation. Luckily, he seems to be one of the more accepting and nicer teachers in the school. "Sorry Mr Hunt," I begin. "I…" I stop. I don't know what to say. I've never been good at making up excuses. "I spilt some soda on my lap and had to go clean it up." I say – it's the first thing that comes into my mind.

I see Mr Hunt chuckle a little. "I'll let you off this time, but next time please just ask me first." I somehow know that he doesn't really believe me but he's nice enough to not push me for the real reason.

"Yes sir." I reply before looking down and walking back to mine and Ally's desk at the back of the room.

Well, if I thought the silence earlier was awkward, it has _nothing_ compared to _this_ silence as I stand beside Ally. She hasn't looked at me _once_ since I've been here next to her and it's just making me feel worse.

She's working through the experiment like a pro, and I'm just standing there uselessly. At one point I reached for something to try and help, but she instantly grabbed it before I got a chance, so I gave up trying.

Finally, I can't take this anymore. I open my mouth to apologise… aaaand the bell rings signifying lunch. Ally's out the door quicker than a cheetah, the experiment finished and perfectly presented on the desk.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

I have _never_ been so relieved to hear the bell ring before. And it was perfect timing, since I had just finished my… I mean _our_ experiment. Even though Austin didn't do anything to help. Surprise surprise.

It felt like the longest lesson of my life. I'm generally a very awkward person anyway, but in those circumstances I reached a whole new level of awkwardness.

Can you blame me, though? The guy is rude when I approach him, dismissive when I try and talk to him, then goes and snaps and leaves the room, causing everyone to stare at me and nearly give me a panic attack.

I immediately leave the room, not even waiting for Trish, just desperate to be away from Austin. I almost run to my locker and shove my Chemistry folder into it, before heading to the cafeteria.

Trish has caught up with me by this point, so we wait in line and buy our lunch together before going and sitting at our usual table in the corner with the girls. "Hey guys!" Trish says as we sat down.

"Heyyy!" We get a chorus back.

"How's everything?" Piper asks, taking a bite of fruit.

"Well, you guys would not believe what just ha…" Trish begins before I kick her in the shin under the table. I do _not_ want the others knowing about what happened between me and Austin.

"What just what?" Piper asks, confused by Trish's sudden silence.

"Oh, nothing, doesn't matter." Trish covers quickly, before stuffing her face full of food so she doesn't have to keep speaking.

"Ooookay…" Brooke continues, confused. "Anyways, have you guys seen Austin today?" She says. I swear she said this earlier… man, that girl is _obsessed_ with him. I fight the urge to groan at the mention of his name. "He is _hoooooot_!" She says, slapping her hand repeatedly on the table as she drags out the word 'hot'.

"Brooke, we talked about this earlier." Piper says. Phew, I'm glad I'm not the only one who realised this. "But he _is_ cute."

"Ugh, guys, can we please not talk about him for once?" I blurt out before I even realise what I'm saying. Oops.

"Oooooooh" All the girls mock, before giggling.

"She does have a point, though." Trish says, coming to my rescue.

"Okay, _fine_ , we'll talk about something else…" Cassidy moans, frowning.

We spend the rest of lunch just talking about our summers. Obviously, mine is by far the most boring. Eh, I'm used to it.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

My fifth lesson is AP English Literature. Honestly, I don't know why I picked this lesson. I think it was just so that I had another AP on my record so I have more chance of getting into MUNY.

I didn't do anything at lunch. I didn't even talk to Dez, Elliot or Alex. But I think they're getting used to that, I go off on my own whenever I'm in a bad mood and basically shut off all communication to other people. Even when other people call out to me in the hallways, I just blank them or nod slightly in response. That seems really rude, but when I'm in a mood there is no way I'm talking to anybody.

I just went outside and sat by the old oak tree like I did during my free period. Part of me hopes Ally will walk past again so I have a chance to make amends and say sorry, but the more realistic part of me knows that's not going to happen because… well, she hates me.

I have this lesson with Alex, so I went back inside a few minutes earlier to get my folders for English and Statistics (which I have sixth) before meeting him and the others in the cafeteria just as the bell rings.

We get into the classroom and take a desk in the middle of the room, and sit there talking for a few minutes before the lesson starts. And who should walk in the door but Ally. Typical.

I think back to earlier and feel worse again and think about ways I can try and make it better - I really don't want to make this girl an enemy.

At this point I realise I've been zoned out, not listening to a word Alex has been saying. He punches me on the arm, he knows from experience that's the only way to get me back to reality when I'm like this. I look back at him and murmur a "Hmmm?"

He turns around and sees Ally sitting at the desk a couple of rows along from us. "Why are you staring at that brunette?"

He wasn't in Chemistry so he doesn't know about what happened between me and Ally, and I can't be bothered to waste my breath explaining a meaningless argument to him. "Doesn't matter." I simply reply, hoping he'll take the hint and just drop the conversation which, luckily for me, he seems to do as he just nods in reply and we get all our stuff out ready for the lesson to begin.

Throughout the entire lesson I keep stealing small glances over at the desk where Ally is sitting. No doubt she's been spreading it to all her friends about how I'm 'a total bastard' and the biggest jerk she's ever met in her life. But to be honest, I don't really care, even though I know I should. I guess I'm just used to it.

The lesson finishes, and me and Alex quickly put our stuff away and walk out. When we get to the door we say goodbye, fist-bump and go our separate ways. I have AP Statistics sixth, a.k.a. living hell. Statistics is by far my worst subject that I take, but I always try my best to keep up and I manage to scrape a B+ most of the time, which is good enough for me.

I walk in and go and sit by the windows, so that if I get completely hopelessly lost I can at least have a nice view to occupy myself.

The teacher, Mr Thatcher, walks in and sets down his briefcase. He looks around 96 and acts like it too, I don't know how he hasn't retired already. His teaching isn't much better than his appearance – he's in competition with Mr Owens for the title of World's Most Boring Teacher. No wonder I suck at Statistics.

About halfway through the lesson I am losing the will to live, and look up from my page of notes and out the window. The room overlooks the 'mini-park' area (that's what I'll refer to it as) where I was in my free period. Well, I'm sure you can guess who happened to be walking slowly along the path at that point: Ally.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

I have another free period sixth, the one that I share with Trish, so after English I walk off towards the back doors of the school that lead out to the 'mini-park' with her. I said earlier that I didn't want to talk about it, but I find my mind constantly drifting back to Austin. I feel really bad about what happened, even if he did kind of over-react.

I find myself re-tracing my steps from earlier, paying no attention to what Trish is saying, walking back along the path that runs through the 'mini-park' past all the trees. I think part of my sub-conscious was hoping that Austin would be here again so that I could apologise, but the rest of me just wanted to avoid him for now.

He wasn't there in the end, so I figured he'd either be in a lesson or he'd ditched. Now, based on everything I'd be expected to think the second of those options, but remembering the entire reason of our argument earlier, well at least on his side anyway, was that I seem to believe everything I hear, so I know that he's in a lesson. Like he said, there's a reason he's in AP classes, there has to be…

Eventually I hear the bell go signalling the end of the period. We have our afternoon break now, so I go back inside and meet the girls at our usual place and we spend the break like we always do; just talking.

The break is only 15 minutes long, so before we know it we're off to 7th period, which for me is AP Calculus, one of my favourite subjects. I get there quickly and sit down, ready for the lesson.

It goes pretty quickly, but then again we didn't really do much work since it's only the first day back. Finally it's time for the last lesson of the day, and I'm so glad that whoever organised the schedules did what they did – I finish the day with AP Music. Talk about saving the best until last!

I practically run to Music, I can't wait for this lesson, I've always loved it so much and I'm sure that won't change this year. After all, music _is_ what I want to do for a career! I get to the room, which is on the top floor, fairly out of breath from all the stairs, but I take a seat in the front of the small classroom. There's only a couple of other people in the room who I've had music with for a couple of years, but that's because this class has always been the smallest one I have.

I get my songbook out – I actually have an excuse to _use_ it in this lesson – and start doodling in the back of it whilst I wait. And guess who walked through the door. Hint: his name begins with an A.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

Yes! Finally it's time for AP Music! I had a free period seventh and I just walked around aimlessly for most of it, getting back used to where everything is in the school. I kind of lost track of the time though, and I only vaguely heard the bell go as I was right out at the other end of the school grounds.

I had to run to get there on time – no way in hell am I going to be late for music! I sprinted up the stairs and walked quickly over to the room, trying to regain my breath because I didn't want to come across like a fool to anyone in the lesson. I put my hand on the door handle, take one last breath to make sure I seem normal, and enter.

Ally's sat in the front row.

And she looks up at me.

And we make eye contact.

And it's awkward.

Very awkward.

After a couple of excruciating seconds I tear my gaze away from hers and go and take a seat diagonally behind her.

I didn't know Ally was into music! Well, actually, that's hardly surprising, because I barely knew anything about Ally at all. But she'd never been in any of my AP Music classes before… I guess this is kind of the point of the whole 'changing around the year' thing the school did.

When our teacher walks through the door I do a silent fist-pump. It's Miss Kennedy, who I've had for my entire course at High School. She is… how can I put this… the _perfect_ teacher. Kind, funny, young (and therefore relatable), gets to know us as people and not just students, and may I just say very easy on the eyes too… but that's wrong and I know that, I'd never even _dream_ of doing anything like that. But still, Miss Kennedy is awesome.

She smiles at us all (there's only 5 of us in total) as she walks in with a Starbucks cup in hand and walks over to her desk. She sets down her coffee and turns to face us all. "Hey guys," She begins. "welcome to AP Music in your junior year, I'm Miss Kennedy and I'll be teaching you. I know Austin and Sarah already," (Sarah's another girl in the class who was also in my class last year) "but not the other three of you, so I look forward to getting to know you guys too." She says smiling. "So, what are your names?" She asks sweetly.

"Harry." I hear one of the boys behind me say.

"Mike." Says the other one, who seems to be his friend.

"Ally." She speaks very quietly, I doubt the other three at the back of the room even heard her, but Miss Kennedy seemed to since she smiled and nodded at her.

"Okay, hi guys." Miss Kennedy said back. "So, let's get straight down to it. We're not going to do anything particularly advanced today, I'm just going to give you all a list of songs and you will choose one of those songs to perform to the rest of the group at the end of the lesson, just so I can gauge your ability levels." She said as she pulled a few sheets of paper out of her bag on her desk. "Does anyone have any problems with performing?"

Ally slowly raises her hand a little and Miss Kennedy smiles gently at her. "What is it, Ally?" She asks softly.

"Erm…" Ally begins timidly. "I… I don't really have a lot of c-confidence…" She begins, clearly nervous. "I mean I can normally perform in front of small groups but sometimes I just get the worst s-stage fright." She finishes, looking down at her hands on her desk.

Miss Kennedy smiles sympathetically and went and knelt down next to Ally's desk. "Don't worry Ally, I won't make you perform in front of the rest of the class if you're really uncomfortable, but I think you can do it." She said encouragingly. "There's nothing for you to be afraid of, this is a small group and I already know Austin and Sarah from having taught them, they'd never be anything but supportive to you."

I smile a little smugly at what Miss Kennedy said about me but it's completely true, I'd never ever make fun of someone for performing or anything, that's just horrible… but I can see a trace of doubt on Ally's face – she clearly doesn't believe that at all. "Why don't you pick a song and have a go like the rest of the class, and then at the end we'll see if you're happy to perform in front of them, okay? If not you can just show me privately." She ends with a smile.

"O-Okay." Ally says, smiling back and nodding her head. Miss Kennedy stands back up and starts handing out the sheets with the song list on.

I feel sympathetic towards Ally, it must be horrible for her to have to stand up and sing in front of a group of strangers if her stage-fright is really that bad, but at the same time it seems kind of stupid for her to have picked music, knowing it would involve performing, if she's terrified of being on stage.

I look down the list and choose a simple, upbeat song I am familiar with from the charts and we all spend most of the lesson practising individually for our performances at the end.

Before we know it Miss Kennedy claps her hands together for our attention and we all stop and look up at her. "Okay everyone, time for our performances. Who wants to go first?"

Mike goes first, followed by Harry and then Sarah. They all sing really well and I can tell that it's gonna be a good year if everyone's this talented.

Next it's my turn and I walk up to the mini stage area at the front of the room like the others all did. They're all watching me and it feels great, I _love_ being on stage and performing. I start my song and sing it happily. At the end I get a small round of applause from the tiny group and a big smile from Miss Kennedy. "Wonderful Austin!" She says and I thank her before stepping off the stage and walking back to my desk.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

Mike, Harry and Sarah have performed already and they were all really good! I don't know if I'm as good as them, but I can try at least.

It's Austin's turn and he walks up onto the raised area that acts as a stage. He starts to sing and I am completely blown away by his voice – he's _incredible_! I can tell he's a complete natural and he obviously loves being on stage. I recognise the song he's singing but there's something about the way he sings it which just makes it completely unique and even better!

The song is soon over and I hear everyone start to clap, breaking me out of my trance and causing me to start clapping too, looking down to avoid making any more awkward eye contact – I've had more than enough of that for one day!

"Ally, are you going to be okay to perform for the group?" Miss Kennedy asks me sweetly. She's really nice, and I feel comfortable around her and the rest of the group already.

"Yeah, I think so." I say a little timidly, standing up out of my seat and walking up onto the stage area. I take a deep breath, look up and start to sing.

I chose a slow, big ballad from the list that I know by heart and used to be completely obsessed with, and it feels like I'm not singing on stage, I'm just on my own in my bedroom or the practice room at Sonic Boom on my own. I get completely lost in the song and I love every second of it.

When I open my eyes at the end of the song, I see everyone with wide eyes and Harry's mouth is hanging open a little too. _'Uh-oh'_ I start to think _'I was awful!'_ I go to grab a lock of my hair to shove into my mouth when everyone stands up and starts applauding… I just got a standing ovation! And it feels _great_!

I smile widely and turn to see Miss Kennedy doing the same, before returning to my seat and sitting down quickly.

"Well, thank you all very much, I can tell we have a really talented class this year and I can't wait to get into the real work, I think it's going to be great!" Miss Kennedy tells us, still smiling brightly. "You can all just put your things away and have a little chat, as soon as the bell goes you can leave." She tells us before going back to her desk and starting to gather her things herself.

I slowly put all my belongings back in my bag and stand up. As I turn around to push my chair under my desk I see Austin looking at me and we make eye contact again, but this time it doesn't feel awkward. He gives me a meek smile and a double thumbs-up before looking down and picking up his bag, breaking the eye contact.

I smile a little to myself and put my chair under just as the bell rings and we all walk out the door.

. . . . .

 **Hi guys! That's chapter 4 done! Sorry the ending is a little rubbish, I was just running out of time and wasn't quite sure of the best way to end this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it anyway!**

 **The first school day is finally over… sorry it three chapters to get through it, I don't even know how it did!**

 **Remember to check back every Monday for a new chapter!**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite and review, it means a lot to me!**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story!**

 **So I've finally finished figuring out the plot line for this story! Until now I'd kinda just been making it up as I went along, but now I've sat down and wrote up a storyline, and it looks like this might end up as a series with 2 or 3 different 'parts', or I might just make it one longer one… let me know which you'd prefer! One longer part or a few slightly shorter ones?**

 **In response to a question from letmetakeyourpicturebaby, I would aim to make each part around 20 chapters long...**

 **On with the story!**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Five: A Perfect Day?**

 _Ally's POV_

I practically ran to Sonic Boom, still on an adrenaline high from my performance. I couldn't wait to tell my Dad about how amazing it had been, I knew he would be so proud of me!

I burst through the doors of the shop, causing everyone inside to stop and look at me… cue stage-fright again.

Mercifully this only lasted for about a second before everyone just went back about their business. "Ally? You okay?" My Dad asked from behind the counter. I never normally burst through the doors like I did today, in case you were wondering.

"Yeah Dad I'm great!" I say excitedly as I scurry over to the counter and lean over giving him a big hug.

"Uh… good, I guess…" I think he was a little taken aback by just how happy I was. "So what's got you in such a good mood?"

I told him all about my performance in music class, how kind the teacher was and how amazing it felt to perform, I think I'm genuinely slowly beginning to get over my stage fright! I recounted how I was absolutely petrified at first but then once I started I just never wanted to stop, and then how I got a standing ovation and it was just the best feeling in the world!

I think I managed to talk about it for about five minutes straight without taking a breath, and when I finally did finish my Dad was just sort of stood there, staring at me like I was crazy. "Well that's great honey…" He said a couple of minutes later, I don't think he really understood a single word because of how fast I'd been speaking but oh well. "Are you okay to watch the store for the rest of the night? I need to go and get some rest."

"Of course Dad that's fine, you go on home." I replied gently, tapping his upper arm. He thanked me, kissed the top of my head and left the store. He was finding it harder and harder to work longer shifts recently so I was more than happy to step in and help out – I loved working at the store anyway!

The next ten minutes or so were just business as usual, serving customers, helping them pick out the right instruments, stuff like that.

Then Trish came in through the doors, looking out of breath. "Ally…" she wheezed, "where the hell were you after school?"

Oops, I'd forgotten that I always meet with Trish after school so we can walk together. I was just so excited today that my legs just carried me before I could think about it.

"Sorry Trish," I begin. "I'm just a little hyper today and I kinda ran out of school and here straight away."

"Well why so hyper?" Trish asked, sitting next to me on top of the counter whilst she caught her breath.

"I sang in Music last period and it just went really well." I explain, deciding not to put her through the same thing I did with my Dad. "It gave me an adrenaline rush so I didn't really know what was happening and I found myself running here." I smile, hoping she's not too mad but I know she won't be really.

"Wait, you performed? Like in front of a class?" Trish was shocked.

I slowly nod. "Yeah…"

Trish immediately hops off the counter and wraps me in a hug, bouncing round in a circle with me. "Oh my God you actually performed! I'm so proud of you!" She said excitedly as we celebrated, whilst I was giggling my head off. "Does this mean your stage-fright is gone now?"

"No Trish not quite, it's only a tiny class so I've got a long way to go before I can sing in front of an arena." I joke with her. "But it's definitely a step in the right direction." I smile and she hugs me again.

"Aww well I'm so happy for you Ally, but I gotta go get fired from my job at the frozen yogurt shop. Apparently they have cameras which caught me eating straight from the machine… which is also apparently not allowed." She said with a confused expression. Typical Trish. "See you tomorrow!"

And with that she turned and walked out of the store, leaving me once again alone with the customers and the next few hours passed quickly as I did my best to help them until it was finally time for me to shut up the shop and go home for the night.

It'd been a long day.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

I woke up the next morning feeling positive. Positive that it was going to be a good day.

I'd been feeling a lot happier ever since that music lesson, actually. It was good enough that I could get back on the stage and do what I did best, which made me happy, but somehow I felt even better after Ally's performance.

There was just something about the way she performed that simply took my breath away, leaving me completely in awe for the entire performance. It took me a few seconds once she'd finished for me to notice because I'd been so immersed in the beauty of her voice and the song.

Good was an understatement. No, scratch that, _amazing_ was an understatement! I never would have thought from my two encounters with Ally that she would be such a talented singer, or that she would be able to sing in front of people, due to her shy and awkward demeanour. But God was I wrong.

And then she was finished, and it definitely felt like it was over too soon, but I couldn't think of anything to do but stand up and applaud her. I wanted to cheer out loud as well but I decided that would be inappropriate in those circumstances.

And when she was walking back to her seat she looked at me. And we made eye contact again. But this was nothing like any of the other times we'd made eye contact, this time it was much more… understanding? Yeah, I guess that's the best word to describe it. I was still lost for words from her performance, so I did the next best thing and gave her a double thumbs-up in an attempt to show my appreciation, and she _smiled_ at me. It was only a very small, timid smile, sure, but it was a smile.

And for some reason, that one tiny movement of her lips completely brightened up my day. It made me feel all warm inside, like when you take a long sip of hot chocolate on a freezing day in the middle of winter.

I instantly knew I wanted to feel that warmth from her smile a hell of a lot more, and I decided then and there that I _was_ going to become Ally Dawson's friend, no matter what it took and no matter what anybody else thought, because the warm feeling was worth it. Worth it because it makes me happy.

Because of this new-found positivity, for once I was also okay, almost eager, about getting up and ready. I was showered in record time, and was quickly in front of my wardrobe choosing the day's outfit. I soon decided on a red and black plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up, worn open over a black v-neck t-shirt, with black skinny jeans and red converse. I quickly put my hair into its usual state, with a small amount of gel, and applied some cologne, before bouncing down the stairs for breakfast.

I was relieved to see that my Dad was not on the couch this morning, so hopefully that means that he and Mom didn't argue last night. For once.

I could also smell the greatest smell known to man. _Pancakes_.

Now here's a fact for you: pancakes are the _greatest_ food on earth and there is to be _no question_ about that. Zero. Zilch. NO question!

I think you get the message: I really, really, really, really, and I mean _really_ , like pancakes! My day was just getting better!

I entered the kitchen beaming brighter than a lightbulb, with a cheery "Good morning mom!"

She turned around from the stove, also smiling. "Morning sweetie! I'm just making you some pancakes for breakfast." She said before turning back around to focus on cooking.

"Sweet, thanks." I replied before grabbing a glass of orange juice out of the fridge and sitting at the table, pulling out my phone. "Where's dad this morning?" I asked, noticing his absence.

"Oh he went into the store early today, we're getting a new shipment of mattresses in and he needed to be there to sign for them." She replied, not bothering to turn around.

For some reason I didn't entirely believe her, but I decided to just let it go for now. I had already decided that today was going to be a perfect day and I wasn't going to let anything ruin it.

I sat at the table scrolling through my Tweeter feed until my pancakes were done. When I looked up to thank my mom I could still see bags under her eyes, like yesterday, but they were definitely nowhere near as bad as they were. Maybe things were slowly starting to look up…

I thanked her and quickly ate the stack of pancakes, 6 of them in about 50 seconds flat. Don't judge, it's an actual talent I have!

I get up and put my plate in the sink before running back up the stairs. I put everything I need back in my bag and take a final check in the mirror. Having decided I look perfect, I walk back down the stairs and out the front door, shouting bye to my mom as I went.

I got into my car and turned on the radio, and the song that came on was the same one that I performed in class yesterday, and I happily sing along to it as I drive to school on my hopefully perfect day.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

My first day of junior year went through a range of emotions. Anxiety at first, comfort during my first lessons, slight optimism when I met Austin, only for that to turn into fear, anger and sadness during Chemistry, before ending with me feeling on top of the world at the end of Music.

Today I just wanted things to be… calmer. The first day of the school year is always a little hectic and mad as everyone settles into their new schedules, but hopefully I can just enjoy my day today without the rollercoaster ride I experienced yesterday.

I drag myself out of bed and go through my usual morning routine, putting my hair into gentle curls today, and before I know it it's time to choose an outfit for the day. I settle on a plum-purple coloured tank top underneath a grey knit cardigan with black skinny jeans and white vans. Make up done naturally, I walk downstairs and have a fruit bowl for breakfast as my mom had to go to work a little earlier today, as explained by a note she left on the counter, so she couldn't cook breakfast.

My dad… actually, I don't know where my dad was, but I assumed he was just still asleep. He had been extra tired recently anyway, hence why I had been working so long at Sonic Boom.

Checking my phone, I saw that I was perfectly timed to leave the house to meet Trish, and so I walked down the street, feeling optimistic about the day, but in particular about music class.

Trish and I didn't really talk too much on our walk to school, and when we did it was just pleasant, meaningless small talk. It wasn't like an awkward or uncomfortable silence, though, we just didn't really have much to say to each other.

We go straight to homeroom when we get to school, thankfully the other girls were nowhere to be seen when we arrived because I'm not in the mood to listen to all their gossiping and fawning about how hot Austin is today.

We sit by the door like we normally do and I pull out my songbook and a pen. I turn to a clean page and write a diary entry, as I didn't yesterday.

 _Dear songbook/diary,_

 _It's the second day of junior year, and I'm sat in homeroom with Trish like normal. But yesterday was far from normal, it was certainly an eventful way to kick off the school year!_

 _For one thing I met Austin Moon. Yep, that's right, Austin Moon, the bad-boy of the school who is rumoured to be basically a monster. I met him on my free period in the 'mini-park'. At first he came across as really nice – I know, surprising right? But he was really polite and really courteous. But then he left kinda suddenly when I asked if he was on a free period or just skipping class…_

 _Then in Chemistry Mr Hunt assigned me and Austin as lab partners for the whole year! And let's just say that lesson did not end well, with Austin storming out of the room after I accused him of cheating from me. And then us not talking to each other for the rest of the lesson._

 _But then he was in my Music class too, and when I was nervous about performing in front of the class he was really supportive and encouraging and gave me a standing ovation at the end… but I don't trust him. I still don't believe he's really a nice guy. But, I guess I shall find out._

 _Okay I think Trish is annoyed that I'm writing this instead of talking to her, so I'll go now. Write later!_

 _Love, Ally x_

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

I walk into homeroom just as Ally is putting some old brown book away in her bag. She looks up at me as I walk in and I give her a small smile, hoping for the same in return. But I get nothing. She just… stares at me. Not like a glare, but not a smile either. Just neutral. Weird.

I was a little disheartened that she didn't smile back at me, but I realise that she probably still has a mixed opinion of me right now and isn't sure what to think. Our 'relationship' (if you can call it that) has definitely been slightly bi-polar.

I go and take my usual seat at the back of the room. I can't stop tapping my feet in a drum beat or my fingers in a piano piece as I sit there, I am completely in a musical mood right now. I can't wait for Music class later, hopefully I'll get to perform again. I can't explain how amazing it feels for me being on stage, even just in front of my tiny music class. It makes me feel like I can do anything for those few minutes I'm up there.

When I was a kid I would always ask my parents if I could sing for them just to get that feeling. At first they would always let me and would encourage me and clap along, but gradually as I got older that started to change.

They stopped clapping along, then they stopped praising me at the end, and then they just stopped listening altogether. My dad especially.

Then the talks began. My dad led the charge in telling me how it would be stupid for me to want a career in music, that it would never work, that I should use my skills to focus on going into business or working with them at the mattress store.

And gradually, I started to believe them. I started to agree that it was almost impossible for me to make it in music, and that maybe it wasn't the right calling for me.

But when I started High School, my passion just flared up again. All my music teachers have always told me that I have a gift, and that I should follow it, and to never give up. And so I haven't. I still sometimes have the doubts that it's worth my time, and I start to wonder whether I should go and work with my parents… but then I turn on the radio, or I open YouTube, and I hear one piece of music and I'm back into the zone from where I know I can never be fully removed. I know music is my calling. I know I want to make it big. I know I _will_ make it big, and make my parents proud.

And the latest source of my inspiration to make music: I'm looking at her. Ally Dawson. Her performance was so special that it sparked that desire within me to make music for my whole life, and I know that I want to share my musical passion with her. I want to be her friend.

I finally decided that the only way I'm gonna become her friend is to actually talk to her. So I'm about to get up and go over and talk to her and her Latina friend, when the bell for the end of homeroom goes. And before I can quickly grab my bag and get over to her, she's already out the door. Well, looks like I'll have to find her during free period then.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

My first two lessons pass by relatively quickly and before I know it I'm sat at break with Trish and the girls.

And surprise, surprise, they're talking about how hot Austin looks today. Although, I will admit, when he walked into homeroom, he _did_ look pretty hot. The red plaid shirt definitely suited him… I think it probably helps that my favourite colour is red.

The bell goes for the end of break, meaning it's the start of my free period.

Without realising it, I start walking over to the start of the pebble path through the 'mini-park'. It's warmer than it was yesterday, and I find myself removing the cardigan and carrying it.

For some reason I feel slightly disappointed when I don't find Austin sat at the same tree as he was yesterday. I still don't know how I should feel about him, so I guess I just want to talk to him so I can get a definite opinion, be it good or bad.

I walk past the tree and continue down the path. I bring my bag round, opening it and trying to stuff my cardigan inside it whilst getting my sunglasses out. However, being the klutz that I am it all goes wrong and I drop my bag, the contents spilling all over the path.

I curse and kneel down to start picking it all up, when I hear a familiar voice from behind me. "Need a hand?" It says, and I can hear the laughter in his voice.

"I'm fine, thanks." I reply a little tersely, finally gathering everything into the bag and putting my sunglasses on and standing up, turning to face Austin. "What are you doing out here?"

"Uh the same as you I imagine. It's free period and I felt like talking a walk around here."

Of course he is. I'm an idiot, what the hell else would he be doing out here? "Oh. Well yeah. It's a nice day." I reply. Man, I am so lame.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Damn, this is starting to feel awkward. "I, um, I just wanted to say sorry for flipping out at you in Chemistry yesterday." He says, looking down. Did Austin Moon just apologise to me? I'm shocked, frozen in place for a few seconds. When Austin doesn't hear a reply, he looks up, taking in my still frame. "Ally? Are you okay?"

"Huh?" I say, snapping out of it. "Yeah, I'm fine, sorry, I just thought you apologised to me." I say giggling a little, thinking I must have dreamt it.

"I… did…" Austin says, confused.

"Wait what?" This is completely surreal.

"I said I'm sorry for having a go at you yesterday in Chemistry class. It was wrong of me and you didn't deserve it." He repeats, still a little timidly. Am I making Austin Moon nervous?

"Oh… uh… it's-it's okay…" I stammer, still not completely believing the situation. "I mean I shouldn't have accused you of cheating in the first place, I was wrong to make that assumption." I speak the truth, I really do feel bad about just jumping to that conclusion.

"No, I understand, I would have done the same if I was in your position. I know I don't exactly come across to people as the smartest or nicest guy." He smiles a little sadly as he says this.

"Yeah, you can say that again." I mutter under my breath. I think he heard though, as he seems to tense up just a little.

"And I also wanted to say well done for your performance in music yesterday. You were really good."

This is too much. I'm dreaming right? Yeah, surely I've got to be dreaming… first Austin Moon apologised to me, and now he's actually _complimenting_ my performance in music? I mean yes he did give me a double thumbs-up as I walked past him when I left the stage, but I always do that to people even if I don't mean it and I just assumed he was doing the same.

"Oh, uh, thanks but I know I wasn't really. I get super nervous when I get on stage so that probably affected my performance…" I reply, expecting him to just go along with it.

"Are you _kidding_? Ally, you were awesome!" I nearly faint. "How come I never knew you were into music?"

"Well I mean I've never really talked to you before…" I said _'and probably wouldn't ever have if I could have avoided it'_ I thought to myself but decided not to say that out loud. "After all, it's not really common for bad-boys to talk to dorks." I pause, considering whether or not to say the next bit. "And everyone knows you're the biggest bad-boy there is."

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

Ugh, this is _not_ really going the way I wanted it to. Why can this girl not take a compliment, and why can't she see that I'm not at all like my reputation? I really want to prove to her that it's wrong.

"Ally, how many times do I have to tell you that not everything you hear is true?" I get annoyed as I hear a little anger in my own voice.

"So, enlighten me," She says. "what is the 'true' Austin Moon?" She asks inquisitively.

"Well first things first, pretty much all the rumours you hear about me are bullshit," I begin, the anger still in my voice and only growing as I talk about the things that have ruined my chances at making true friends. "Secondly, I am actually smart. Hence why I am in four of your AP classes, plus I do another two. And no, I don't cheat." I can see her wince ever so slightly when I mention cheating as we both think back to yesterday in Chemistry. "Also, I _can't stand_ those popular girls and I feel sick whenever I'm around them. Fourth, I am in no way a jock – despite my obviously amazing body" She rolls her eyes at this. "- and I actually hate football. You need to know anything else?" I finish a little sarcastically.

There's silence for a few seconds as we just stare at each other.

"I'm sorry Austin," She says quietly. "I just don't believe you."

And with that she turns on her heels and walks away, towards the school building.

So much for a perfect day.

. . . . .

 **Hi guys! Wow, five chapters into this story already! I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far :)**

 **Uh-oh, it looks like Austin's plan of friendship with Ally isn't going so well right now… will he be able to convince her that he's telling the truth and turn things around with her? The next chapter might present him with an opportunity to do just that.**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite, review, and leave suggestions and questions! It means a lot to me!**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **The response to this story so far has been brilliant, and I cannot thank you guys enough!**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Six: A Chance**

 _Ally's POV_

I felt kinda bad just walking away from Austin after he'd tried to explain himself to me, but what I said to him was true – I don't believe him. I _want_ to believe him, I really do. But for now I'm just not quite convinced. Who knows, maybe he'll win me around and prove to me that he is the nice guy he claims he is.

It was only as I walked through the doors into the hallway and the bell rang that I realised I'd probably made a mistake by being so dismissive towards Austin. We had Chemistry together next. And we're lab partners for the whole year, remember? Oh boy. Cue the awkwardness.

I was so worried about this that I was very surprised that Austin came and sat next to me in the lab with a huge smile on his face. Was this the first stage in his attempts to win me over and prove himself? I doubt it. He probably just got lucky and managed to make out with a cheerleader before class. Yeah, that will be what's made him so happy. "Hey Ally." He said cheerily as he got his stuff out of his bag.

"Uh… hi…" I tentatively replied, still feeling a little awkward.

"I wonder what today's experiment will be." He continued enthusiastically as he arranged his pencils on the desk.

"Um, yeah, same." _'Oh well done Ally,'_ I think to myself, _'you're playing this_ _real_ _cool'_ "Uh listen, Austin, I'm sorry I just walked away from you earlier, that was quite rude of me."

"Oh don't worry; I wouldn't have believed me either if I was in your position." He replies smiling. "But no matter I will find a way to prove it to you." He says confidently, before turning to the front to pay attention to Mr Hunt as the lesson had just started.

"Great." I say under my breath.

Mr Hunt quickly explained the experiment of the day along with a quick demonstration before telling us we had the lesson to complete it in our pairs and that our work would be graded at the end.

It was a reasonably simple experiment focusing on the reaction between a small piece of metal and acid, there wasn't really too much that could go wrong.

Austin and I decided to get the written theory part of the experiment done first, and like yesterday Austin finished around the same time as me, and when I looked over his work it was worded completely different to mine, so it really was his own work. Wow, he was being honest about the part on him being genuinely intelligent.

As we were starting to set up our equipment, we heard a manly shriek come from a few rows forward. Looking up, I saw Ryan, Trish's partner, pale and staring at his hand, which was covered in acid. "You idiot!" He shouted at Trish, who was clearly trying to contain laughter.

"Oops, sorry." She said although she clearly wasn't. I chuckled slightly, good old Trish, only she could manage to spill the entire beaker of acid on her partner's hand whilst pouring it into a beaker. Luckily the acid we were using was only very weak and Mr Hunt immediately helped Ryan put his hand under cold water so there'd be no serious damage.

Trish looked back and saw me giggling at the situation and gave me a subtle wink and a thumbs-up before turning back around.

I focused back on our own experiment and it seemed Austin and I are a pretty good team, we sailed through the practical section quickly and easily and we were done with plenty of time to spare. We called Mr Hunt over to check our work.

"Excellent, you two, good work. A+ for both of you." He said smiling and writing this down in his book.

"Whoo!" Austin shouted in celebration, causing me to giggle again. I put my hand up for a high-five but was very surprised when Austin picked me up in a hug and span me round, and I let out a quiet shriek as he unexpectedly lifted me off the floor.

When he put me down he looked down at the floor and… wait, was he _blushing_? Did I just make Austin Moon blush? "Sorry." He said quietly, a nervous and awkward smile on his face.

"It's fine, don't worry, it was fun." I said back, chuckling as I said it and starting to clear away our equipment.

From the corner of my eye I saw Austin crack a bigger smile as I laughed before he started to help me clean up.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

My talk with Ally during our free period made me realise that it's not going to be completely easy to become her friend. I should have known really, it's not like anyone can just snap their fingers and make somebody else suddenly like them. But, our talk also just made me even more determined to prove myself to her and I am _not_ going to give up.

When we hugged… well, I guess when I hugged her… in Chemistry, I was immediately worried about her reaction. I expected her to be mad or weirded out, but instead she just smiled and said it was okay. So I am making progress. Slow, slow, painful progress.

We completely aced the experiment; we seem to be a good team. Ally is _amazingly_ intelligent, so no wonder that when you combine our intellect it becomes even better.

By the time we'd finished clearing away all our equipment after the experiment, there was still 10 minutes left of the lesson, and since we'd done everything we just sat at the desk. I decided to take this as an opportunity to continue my efforts of winning her over.

"So, Ally, what got you into music?" I ask, remembering her outstanding performance in class yesterday.

"My Dad did, years and years ago. He taught me pretty much everything I know." She replied softly. "What about you?"

"Honestly I don't know, I've been completely obsessed with it ever since I can remember. My earliest childhood memory is singing and dancing around in front of my family when I was about 2." I answer, and I can feel myself smiling as I have a fond flashback to the time.

"Oh so is your family supportive of your music then?"

My smile instantly drops. "No. Not really." I say, turning to look at her with a somewhat sadder smile plastered onto my face.

"Oh really?" She asks, looking sympathetic.

"Yeah. They used to enjoy it when I was a little kid, but over time they've been trying to push me more and more to look at business schools and stuff like that. They want me to work at the store they own, Moon's Mattress Kingdom. But that is my idea of living hell."

"My Mom's kinda the same. My Dad was also super supportive of it, but my Mom's a successful businesswoman and she's always hinting that I should look at stuff like that, but I'm the same as you. I really don't want to do that."

"Yeah well at least you have your father to support you. I have no-one." I reply sadly. I'd never really thought of it like this before, but now that I did I realise it's true. Nobody really truly understands my passion for music – Dez, Elliot and Alex know about it but they don't share the passion with me. No, when it comes to music I'm all on my own.

My thoughts are interrupted when Ally speaks up again. "What? Don't any of your popular friends like your music?" She says in a jokey kind of way.

"Ally you know they're not my real friends!" I reply, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

"Do I though?"

Then it dawned on me. "You still don't believe me, do you?" I asked quietly.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

"You still don't believe me, do you?" He asks, looking disappointed.

But he's right.

"I'm sorry, Austin. I'm trying to believe you, I _want_ to believe you, but I just don't. But don't worry, I'm sure you'll get your chance to prove it to me."

Luckily I was quite literally saved by the bell as it rang signifying the end of the lesson and the start of lunch. Me and Trish bought our lunch and sat at our usual table with the girls. "Hey girls," She said as we sat down. I just smiled a little awkwardly.

"Hey!" Piper responded enthusiastically. "How's it going?"

"Well I just spilt acid all over my lab partner's hand." Trish said with a smile on her face. She is _so_ not sorry.

Everyone gasped and looked at my hands, expecting that it would be me the acid was spilt on because we're always normally partners. I chuckled a little at this. "No it's not me guys, Trish's partner is Ryan. Mr Hunt assigned our partners for the whole year."

They all let out a small sigh of relief. "So then, Ally, who's your partner?" Cassidy asked.

Ugh. This isn't going to go down well. "Austin." I said nonchalantly, hoping they'd respond in much the same way and just drop it. Ha, that was wishful thinking. Instead they all gasped again, except this time louder, and Piper started to choke on the huge mouthful of water she'd just been drinking.

"Austin? As in Austin Moon!?" Cassidy asked, eyes wide.

"Yeah…?" I replied.

Brooke shot dagger eyes at me. Somebody's jealous. "Why do _you_ get to be his partner?" She asked sharply.

"It wasn't my choice," I defended myself. "Mr Hunt decided our partners for us."

"Yeah, right." Brooke retaliated. "Nice story, Ally. But you might as well give it up, Austin would never go out with _you_ , anyway." Umm, ouch. Cheers Brooke.

I didn't know how to respond, and I could feel Trish next to me ready to attack, but I gave her a look telling her not to and just smiled and shrugged my shoulders at Brooke, trying not to let her see how much her comment actually hurt.

At my actions Brooke simply scoffed and flicked her hair back, before announcing she was going to the restroom and dumping the rest of her lunch in the trash can before strutting out of the cafeteria.

"Okayyyyyy…" Said Piper. "Don't worry, Ally, she doesn't know what she's talking about. Don't let her get to you." She reassured me, patting me gently on the shoulder. Cassidy gave a small smile and nodded in agreement with Piper.

"Yeah I know." I replied. "And to be honest, I really couldn't care less what Brooke thinks anyway."

. . . . .

 _Trish's POV_

Brooke is such a bitch! How could she have said something like that to Ally? Ally's never done anything wrong to her at all, and it just infuriates me that Brooke would try to hurt her like that for absolutely no reason.

Ally's struggled with self-esteem and confidence issues in the past, Brooke _knows_ that, so she was clearly trying to play on Ally's insecurities to make her feel bad… bad for the fact that our Chemistry teacher decided who we have to work with for a year – what kind of messed up logic is that meant to be!?

Besides, her comment is hardly valid, I doubt Austin would ever want to date some obsessed psychopath like her either, so she really can't talk.

I was about ready to pounce on Brooke when she said that, but I knew Ally would hate me for it, and the look she gave me confirmed this, so I just let it slide and tried to relax a bit. But I swear down, if Brooke decides to try something like that again, then I will be ready for her. And she had better know that.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

When Chemistry was over I quickly ran to the bathroom, before going to get my lunch. Just as I left the bathroom, I looked up and saw a brunette girl… I think her name is Brooke… marching towards me with a bit more determination than girls normally do when they're trying to get me to notice them. Not gonna lie, I was a little scared.

Suddenly, as she reached me, she plastered an obviously fake smile on her face. "Hi, Austin!" She cooed in a sickly sweet voice. People around us had stopped and stared to see what was going to happen and I felt a little uncomfortable.

"Uh… hi?" I responded nervously. "It's… Brooke, right?"

She let out a giggle to rival the annoyance of Kimmy's and I cringed at the sound as it pierced my ear drums. "Yep, that's me! Wow, you already know me so well!" She kept on her huge smile. I get it, she's one of _those_ girls.

"Um, not really." I say back with a small smile.

"You have such a cute smile!" She continues her, honestly pathetic, charm offensive in an annoyingly high voice.

"Thanks… I guess…" I say, I'm starting to get bored and annoyed by this girl now. I'd rather be trapped by Carrie, Violet, Kimmy and Tilly right now. In fact no, I won't say that cos I'll just jinx it, and I am really _not_ in the mood for them right now.

She giggled again. "So, Austin, are you gonna ask me out this weekend?" Wow, she has no shame.

"No." I said flatly without giving it even a second's thought. "Sorry."

Her smile falters a little but she manages to keep it in place. "Oh no problem, next week?"

' _Oh my GOD!'_ I think to myself. _'Take a hint! Please!'_ But I could never be that mean to her face, so I just said "Bye, Brooke." before walking around her and continuing towards the cafeteria.

"Okay, bye Austin! I love you! And you will love me too, I _vow_ it!" I hear her call out behind me.

Creep.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

English class passed quickly, and I made my way outside to spend my second free period of the day in the sunshine. I walked over and sat down at a bench just outside the school doors, and pulled out my songbook.

I've had a strangely large amount of inspiration and ideas recently, and I'm definitely trying to make the most of it!

I spend half an hour looking over some of the songs I started recently, making small tweaks to some and completely scrapping others. None of my songs are really good enough to be performed in front of people, at least I don't think so anyway, but I still get a rush of joy and pride whenever I finish a song or get a sudden idea for a section that I'm really happy with.

My songbook is full of so many memories, the diary entries go way back and I absolutely cringe when I read some of them about old crushes (who are mostly now people I really hate) and my feelings and stuff like that, but it's a nice sort of cringe… if that makes any sense at all.

And of course, as well as old memories and feelings and crushes there are old _songs_. Yeah. Let's just say I wasn't exactly a song writing child prodigy. Not at all. But it's great in a way that those songs are still there because it gives me a great comparison to what I write now, and some of those early songs can give me great inspiration and keep me determined to write good songs.

No one can ever see my book. And I mean nobody. Not even my parents, or Trish, and definitely not Brooke or the populars. Oh God, if any of them ever got their hands on it I would just _die_ – some of the stuff in there is super personal and embarrassing; childhood me was hardly the coolest kid around to say the least, and for some very good reasons!

Luckily, Trish came along and helped me improve how I'm seen by other people. She helped me gain a little self-confidence, helped me with my dress sense (it used to be brutal) by forcing me to read fashion magazines and go shopping with her, and generally just made my life better.

I'm lucky that she came around when she did, because she definitely helped me avoid being bullied and all that other horrible stuff that you hear about things that happen to poor little kids in schools. That's right, I've never been bullied. Thank God. I just quietly and happily get on with my own life and I think all the bullies just couldn't really be bothered with me so I had a lucky escape. Plus, I was best friends with Trish, whom no one would ever _dare_ bully. One guy tried it once and ended up in the hospital.

I've been so distracted in my thoughts that the time absolutely flies by and I'm brought out of my trance by the ringing of the school bell. It's time for our afternoon break so I walk back inside to find Trish.

I pass Brooke in the hallway; she gives me an icy cold glare that sends shivers down my spine. That girl can be really intimidating if she wants to be, but it's not my problem that she's getting jealous over something as ridiculous as a lab partner.

Speak of the devil, just after I pass Austin too. He gives me a smile and a small wave which I return as we pass by each other. Okay, I admit it, Austin _is_ cute... _very_ cute… but what Brooke said is also right, there is no way he would ever want to go out with me. Who in their right mind would when they can have any girl in school, and there are so many 'hot' cheerleaders practically begging him to date them? Still, he's nice. And he's slowly growing on me – but I still don't entirely believe him yet. I've only known him for two days, after all.

I find Trish and we spend the break walking around outside. We're both pretty quiet, but it's a nice kind of quiet, as we both just enjoy the sun and heat. I can't wait for music class, it's the only thing that really keeps me going throughout the day, the thought of being able to be completely myself and enjoy that for a lesson.

Unfortunately, before that I have to sit through a lesson of Calculus. Let me tell you, Calculus has _never_ felt so long before! I was watching the clock like a hawk the entire time, willing those little hands to move faster, faster, faster still.

Finally, the torturous wait is over and I am free from my mathematical prison to immerse myself in the divine wonder that is the musical art… was that a little too much? Sorry.

I enter the music room and take my seat, quickly ready for the lesson to begin. I wonder what we'll be doing today…

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

Finally, time for the best part of the day – music class!

I spent my second free period of the day being practically harassed by the popular girls (again) so I really need this time to relax and try and block the memories of them from my head for as long as possible.

Ally's already there when I walk in, and I give her a smile and take the seat next to her. "Hey Ally." I say as I set my bag down and get everything out.

"Hey Austin." She replies cheerily. "You excited for music class?"

"You know it!" I reply happily. "Best part of the day."

"Without a doubt." She agrees as Miss Kennedy walks through the door and smiles at us all.

"Hey guys!" She says with a smile. "You guys ready for the lesson?"

Everyone nods at her in response – every single person in the room loves this lesson and we can all tell this without even having to say it to each other.

"Okay, so yesterday you all performed a song from a set list, and let me just say you were all brilliant, I can tell this is going to be a great year." I smiled, it felt great being complimented about music. "So today is going to be the first chance you get to show off your song writing abilities." She continues.

I see Ally perk up a bit at this out of the corner of my eye.

"Each of you will have to write just one song. The song is to be about either your approach to life and/or your goals and dreams of what you'd like to achieve. You must also speak a couple of sentences before you begin explaining your song and its meaning."

This is… this is _great_! Oh my God this is like a dream assignment! I instantly know I'm going to write about my dreams of being a successful musician, there is no way I'm writing about anything else.

"You have today's lesson and tonight to write your songs, and they will all be performed tomorrow. Any questions?" Miss Kennedy finishes the briefing. When she sees no one raise their hand with a question, she tells us we can just start and ask her if we need anything, before walking over to her desk and sitting down in front of her laptop.

I pull out some paper and start to brainstorm ideas for my song. It takes a few minutes before it hits me:

This is my chance.

This is my chance to show Ally that I'm real. If I can come up with a song and performance believable enough, I can prove to her that all I want is to be happy and successful. It's also my chance to make her believe what I said about not having much support, if… yes, yes this could work!

I begin writing my song, and I instantly love it as it starts to practically write itself.

This is going to work. I'm sure of it.

. . . . .

 **There you go, that's chapter six! I hope you guys loved it and if you did please leave a review telling me so!**

 **Austin's convinced that this is his chance to win Ally over, but will she be impressed by his performance? Also, Brooke is on the prowl so Ally had better watch out for her…**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **This is the first chapter of the story in which I've actually included a song and the lyrics, so let me know what you think of that and how it's formatted and stuff like that in a review :)**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Seven: Me And My Guitar**

 _Ally's POV_

When Miss Kennedy told us what our project was, I instantly got so excited! Finally a chance for me to show people my song writing abilities! But I'm still glad it's only in front of our class though, I am still far from over my stage fright!

When she had finished speaking, I turned to ask Austin what his ideas were, but he was already brainstorming, deep in thought and concentration, and I didn't want to ruin that so I just got my songbook out and started making ideas in there. _'A song about your approach to life and/or your goals and dreams…'_

As I make a list of my ideas, a seemingly recurring theme within them is the idea of not giving up and being determined. I think I can make a song based around that – then a huge smile quickly spreads across my face as a melody pops into my head. I quickly scribble it down so I don't forget it before taking my songbook over to one of the pianos in the corner of the room and playing it out gently. I like it.

The lesson passes by very quickly, in a whirl of lyrics and melodies, and when the bell rings at the end I am about halfway done with the song. I can finish it later at Sonic Boom, so I walk back over to my bag and put away my songbook. I smile at Austin when I walk over. "Hey, any good ideas?" I ask.

"Oh yeah, this is _perfect_." He says smiling brightly. "How about you, you got something?"

"Yeah I'm about half-done. I can finish tonight; I want to make sure it's perfect for tomorrow."

"Well based on your performance yesterday I'm sure it will be brilliant." He replies as we walk towards the classroom door. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah sure. Have a nice night Austin." I say with a smile before we walk in opposite directions down the hallway. I've got the melody of my song stuck in my head as I walk to Trish's class and meet with her there.

"Hey girl!" She says as she walks out and sees me. "You ready to go?"

I nod back and we make our way out of the school. Trish is telling me about how her Geography teacher gave her a detention for falling asleep or something along those lines, but all I can think about is ideas for my song, so I just smile and nod every now and then so she thinks I'm listening (and it seems to work!).

"What about you how was your last lesson? You had music, right?" She asks as we approach the mall.

"Yeah we have to write a song about our approach to life and/or our goals and dreams and then perform it in class tomorrow." I explain. "I'm about half-done with my song and I'm really happy with it." I say enthusiastically.

"Good for you, Ally, you know you're an amazing songwriter so it'll blow them all away anyway!" She says with a smile which I return.

We continue making small talk as we walk through the mall towards Sonic Boom, and just before we get there we hug goodbye and Trish walks off in the direction of her latest job. I _think_ she's working in the pizza parlour today.

I walk through the doors of Sonic Boom and greet my Dad with a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Hi honey." He says with a smile, but in his breath I can smell a hint of… alcohol? I immediately brush it off, though, he probably just went out for lunch with his friends and had a pint or two, that's normal I guess. "How was school?"

"It was pretty good thanks, I'll go and do my homework quickly and then I can watch the store." I say to him before walking up the stairs to my practice room.

I speed through my homework from World History and Calculus in just over an hour, before leaving the practice room and walking down the stairs. "Hey Dad I can watch the store now if you want to go home and rest." I tell him as I walk around the counter.

"Thanks Ally-cat, just lock up as usual and I'll see you at home." He says, giving me a kiss on the cheek before leaving the store.

It's fairly quiet, and by 7:30 the store's empty. I don't have to lock up for another hour or so, so I take the opportunity to sit at the big grand piano in the centre of the store and do some more work on my song for music class.

Before I know it, I'm lost in the music and I finish the song easily, just in time to close up the store and walk home.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

As soon as I get home after school I go straight up to my room and grab my acoustic guitar, going over what I did in music class today and figuring out how to write the rest of it.

Two hours later I've finished the song and played it through a couple of times, and I'm definitely really happy with it. I can't really believe it – I normally suck at writing songs! I guess that just for this project I had loads of inspiration and the music and lyrics just came to me.

I go downstairs to get something to eat, and see a note left on the kitchen counter from my parents telling me they're out on a date night. Ugh, old people.

I microwave some dinner and eat it, before trying to think of something to do for the next few hours before I have to go to bed.

I realise that I haven't really spoken to Dez properly in a couple of days, and although this may not seem like very long (and it isn't really), it is for us considering how we spent pretty much every day of summer together. And I kinda miss it. So, I call him and invite him round for a few hours to hang out.

He arrives within about five minutes cos he only lives just around the corner, and we just begin talking about this and that.

"So, how are you dealing with the popular girls?" Dez asks me at one point, smirking. He loves watching me get annoyed by them, he says it's better than watching TV.

"Ugh, don't even get me started. We've been back in school for two days and I've already had more than enough of them. They're inescapable, like homing missiles that lock on as soon as they see me, and there's no such thing as evasive manoeuvres for them, let me tell you."

Dez laughs a little. "It's like you're blessed and cursed at the same time."

"Yeah, when I'm surrounded by them I'm kind of annoyed I'm so good looking and irresistible." That sounded really cocky and arrogant. Eh, who cares, Dez is used to it anyway.

"Poor you." Dez says in a sarcastic voice. "Life must be so difficult."

"Shut up," I say jokingly. "trust me if you were in my position you'd be the same way. Is it impossible for me to be seen by any girl as anything other than my stupid reputation?"

"Yeah that really _would_ be annoying. It's like every girl in the school either loves you because of the rumours or can't stand you because of them. Have you not _tried_ to get any of them to know you for you?"

"Funny you should say that, there is this girl who's in lots of my classes who I'm trying to get to see the real side of me, but she doesn't believe me… yet." I explain, hopeful that my song will help change this.

"Oooh, do you have a _cruuuush_ on her?" Dez asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"No!" I say firmly. "Dez, she still doesn't believe that the rumours are false and like me as a person, let alone _like me_ like me." I respond, kind of avoiding his question.

"But that doesn't answer my question, Austin." Dez says. Damn it, he noticed! "That's how she feels about you, not how you feel about her."

"Dez, no, I do _not_ like her like that. I _just_ want her to be my friend so that at least someone else knows the real me. That is all."

"Okaaaaay, whatever you say." He replies, and we both know that he doesn't believe me. "What's this girl's name, anyway?"

"Her name's Ally. Ally Dawson."

. . . . .

 _Dez's POV_

At last, Austin is finally trying to get a girl to know him for who he really is! It took him long enough!

And, from the sounds of it, this Ally girl he's chosen isn't anything like the popular girls who throw themselves at him – seeing that every day is both entertaining and sickening at the same time.

I'm happy for him though. I've been his best friend for as long as I can remember, and all the way through elementary school and middle school he was just a normal kid, just like me, but then we hit high school and all of a sudden everyone saw him as this God figure, and I think it took both of us by surprise.

He handled it well though, and I'm so thankful. He could have so easily been drawn into that life and gone along with it, and abandoned me for 'cooler friends', like you hear about happening so often. But luckily for me he stayed true to himself, even if nobody else did, and refused to be a part of the 'popular' crowd, even though people still see him that way.

Plus he's had a bit of a bad time with girls. It's not that he wasn't seen as attractive, the complete opposite! But he always found that the girls he went out with only ever liked him because of his reputation and didn't even really know his true personality, let alone like him for that. And I think that's hurt him a lot more than he lets on.

And then of course there are the rumours. Oh God, the rumours. They have reached _ridiculous_ levels, but for some reason everyone still believes them. The worst part is he knows there's no point in trying to deny them, because no one would believe him, so he has to just go along with it knowing that everybody thinks he's done some really messed up stuff.

But, hopefully, if he succeeds with this Ally girl, he'll be happier and one step closer to having everyone know him for who he really is.

Hopefully.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

Thankfully the school days passes quickly, and it's time for music class – time to show everyone my song! I'm so excited to perform, and I can't believe that those words would ever come out of me!

I can tell Austin is feeling the same way, I can feel the excitement radiating from him as he sits at the desk next to mine. He's been quite quiet all day today, and I haven't had a chance to really speak to him. We didn't have our usual free period, because it's Wednesday, which means we had sports instead, and our Chemistry experiment took up the whole lesson so we couldn't really talk. I'm excited to hear his song though, I have a feeling it's going to be really good.

Miss Kennedy enters the room in her usual happy way with a coffee cup in one hand and her laptop in the other, both of which she places on her desk before walking back into the middle. "So guys, today you will be performing the songs you wrote about your approach to life and/or your hopes and dreams. Has everyone managed to get it done?"

Everyone nodded in response.

"Good, well then let's get started! You'll obviously be going one at a time, I have already decided the order. Remember, before you begin you will have to say just a sentence or two explaining your song and all that jazz. So, let's begin…"

Harry performs first, followed by Sarah and then Mike. They all did good songs, but honestly it wasn't like anything you would expect to hear on the radio anytime soon.

"Okay, next is Ally." Announced Miss Kennedy, and I quickly got up and walked to the front of the room and sat behind the piano, getting myself ready.

"Alright, I honestly don't have a completely clear idea of what I am going to do in the future. However, what I am certain of is that I am determined to make something good of my life and be proud of it, and that I will never give up, so I decided to write my song about that. It's called Rise, I hope you enjoy it."

I began to play.

 **(Link to this song:** **watch?v=hdw1uKiTI5c** **)**

 _I won't just survive_

 _Oh you will see me thrive_

 _Can't write my story_

 _I'm beyond the archetype_

 _._

 _I won't just conform_

 _No matter how you shake my core_

 _'Cause my roots they run deep, oh_

 _._

 _Oh, ye of so little faith_

 _Don't doubt it, don't doubt it_

 _Victory is in my veins_

 _I know it, I know it_

 _And I will not negotiate_

 _I'll fight it, I'll fight it_

 _I will transform_

 _._

 _When, when the fire's at my feet again_

 _And the vultures all start circling_

 _They're whispering, "You're out of time"_

 _But still I rise_

 _This is no mistake, no accident_

 _When you think the final nail is in_

 _Think again_

 _Don't be surprised_

 _I will still rise_

 _._

 _I must stay conscious_

 _Through the madness and chaos_

 _So I call on my angels_

 _They say_

 _._

 _Oh, ye of so little faith_

 _Don't doubt it, don't doubt it_

 _Victory is in your veins_

 _You know it, you know it_

 _And you will not negotiate_

 _Just fight it, just fight it_

 _And be transformed_

 _._

 _'Cause when, when the fire's at my feet again_

 _And the vultures all start circling_

 _They're whispering, "You're out of time"_

 _But still I rise_

 _This is no mistake, no accident_

 _When you think the final nail is in_

 _Think again_

 _Don't be surprised_

 _I will still rise_

 _._

 _Don't doubt it, don't doubt it_

 _Oh, oh, oh, oh_

 _You know it, you know it_

 _Still rise_

 _Just fight it, just fight it_

 _Don't be surprised_

 _I will still rise_

 **(Song: Rise by Katy Perry)**

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

Wow! Just… wow! Ally's song was absolutely _incredible_! The entire feel of it was a lot more aggressive than what I was expecting after seeing her performance a couple of days ago, which was so soft, gentle, delicate, vulnerable – basically the opposite of this!

When she finishes, there is that 'perfect silence' that fills the room for a couple of seconds, showing that everyone was giving her performance there full attention, before everyone started clapping and cheering, and I give her a whistle as well for good measure.

She smiles brightly as she stands up and starts to walk back to her seat, but her head is down slightly. It's amazing how as soon as her performance finishes she's back to her normal, shy, quiet self. I guess that just proves how powerful it is when you get into the zone whilst you're performing and for those few minutes it's as if you're in an alternate reality.

"Well done, Ally, that was excellent!" Miss Kennedy says as she stands up and walks back to centre, clapping and smiling a million-dollar smile as she does so. "So, last but not least, Austin! You ready?"

I eagerly nod back and hop up, saying well done to Ally as I pass her on my way to the front of the room. She just smiled softly and blushed a little in response.

I pick up an acoustic guitar and check it is tuned before giving Miss Kennedy a thumbs-up to let her know I'm ready.

"So, my dream in life has always been to be a successful musician. But, unfortunately, there are some people close to me who don't believe in me or don't think that it's possible for me to make it and have it as a career. So, kind of similar to Ally's, my song is about having faith and being determined to make your dreams come true, no matter how many other people try to dissuade you. Enjoy."

My fingers effortlessly start dancing along the strings of the guitar, releasing the melody that I've been working so hard on, and the sound fills the room as I start to sing.

 **(Link to this song:** **watch?v=Nk1UAXlfBUA** **)**

 _People always say_

 _That this has gone too far_

 _But I'm not afraid to chase my dreams_

 _Just me and my guitar_

 _._

 _And no one may ever know_

 _These feelings inside my mind_

 _Cause all of the lines I ever write_

 _Are running out of time_

 _._

 _So maybe I should get a nine to five_

 _But I don't wanna let it go_

 _There's so much more to life_

 _._

 _Tell me that I've got it wrong_

 _Tell me everything will be okay_

 _Before I fall_

 _Tell me they'll play my songs_

 _Tell me they'll sing the words I say_

 _When darkness falls_

 _All of the stars_

 _Will see_

 _Just me and my guitar_

 _._

 _I'm sure that I'll find my way_

 _Cause I'm not afraid to try_

 _Even a world of love and hope_

 _Can't guarantee that price_

 _._

 _So maybe I should get a nine to five_

 _But I don't wanna let it go_

 _There's so much more to life_

 _._

 _So tell me that I've got it wrong_

 _Tell me everything will be okay_

 _Before I fall_

 _And tell me they'll play my songs_

 _Tell me they'll sing the words I say_

 _When darkness falls_

 _All of the stars_

 _Will see_

 _Just me and my guitar_

 _Me and my guitar_

 **(Song: Me And My Guitar by Tom Dice: Eurovision 2010 – Belgium)**

I look around the room and everyone is smiling, and again there is that moment's silence after I'm done before everyone starts clapping and cheering, and I get a standing ovation!

But no one is clapping or cheering louder or with more enthusiasm than Ally, and that warm feeling inside me returns, but this time amplified at least a thousand times. I smile back at her and I can see a glint in her eye.

I put down my guitar and walk back to my seat, and when I get there I am very surprised when Ally throws her arms around my neck in a hug. Obviously, I don't hesitate to hug her back tightly. "Good job!" She says in my ear.

"Thanks." I simply say back.

When we pull apart, she looks me in the eyes and says the best three words I've heard all year: "I believe you."

. . . . .

 **Boom, chapter seven done! I hope you enjoyed it and if you did make sure to leave a review!**

 **Austin's song totally won Ally over, yay! So now that she believes that Austin's not how he comes across, how will their friendship blossom and progress?**

 **Also, I am aware that in Me And My Guitar the actual lyric is "People always say, Tom this has gone too far" but obviously it wouldn't make any sense for Austin to say Tom so I just changed it to that for the purposes of this chapter :)**

 **The links at the beginning of the songs are for YouTube videos of the songs - copy and paste the link into Google and it will be the top result. I highly recommend you watch the videos - who knows? You may find a song that you really love that you'd never heard of before reading this fanfiction! Let me know what you think of the songs in a review ;)**

 **Also sorry for the random dots throughout the songs, it's just the only way I could get the site to format it the way I wanted it :/ If it's super annoying to you then just tell me in a review and I'll change it for next time :)**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite, review, and leave suggestions and questions! It means a lot to me!**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **So I've decided that this story is going to be split into a trilogy! This is just because it will be easier for me to keep a regular update schedule on this story, and I think with the way I have the plot laid out it will just work that way really well. Plus if it was all one story I think it might end up just too long and so people might be put off reading it. So yeah, that's my decision and I hope you guys agree with it :)**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Eight: New Friends and Old Enemies**

 _Ally's POV_

"I believe you." I say to Austin when we pull apart from the hug, and his face lights up like a lightbulb.

"Really?" He asks excitedly, a huge grin on his face to match mine.

"Yes," I reply nodding. "and I'm sorry it took me this long to realise that you are not at all like your reputation, but if you still wanted to I'd love to try and be friends with you."

He picks me up and spins me round again, saying "Yes yes yes yes yes" repeatedly as he does so, which I giggle at. "Thank you Ally." He says softly when he puts me back down. "Thank you for believing in me."

I just smile in response before we turn back to Miss Kennedy who is finishing up the lesson and congratulating us all on our performances.

We pack our stuff away as the bell goes and walk out together. "So, now that I'm your friend do I get to meet all your other friends?" He asks cheerily as we begin to walk down the hallway.

"Uh, I only really have one friend… well, two now cos of you, but apart from you only one real friend." I say nervously.

"That's okay; I'd still love to meet them… I'm guessing it's that curly haired Latina girl, right? What's her name?"

"She's called Trish." I reply. "And quick warning, she hates you." He chuckles a little when I see this but then immediately stops when he can tell from my face that I'm being serious.

"Hates me? Why, she's never met me?" He asks defensively and confused.

"Well you know yourself, Austin, that the rumours really don't paint you in a good light." He mumbles in agreement. "And some girls seem to love them and like you even more, but let's just say that Trish is most definitely _not_ one of those girls."

"Ah, I see." He comments as we continue to walk towards Trish's geography classroom. "Well, if I managed to win you over, Dawson, I'm sure I can do the same with Trish." He continues confidently.

"Yeah, we'll see." I say under my breath. "Just don't make her mad, you'll really regret it." Once again he laughs, and once again he stops when he sees I'm serious. "I'm not even kidding, she's more violent and stronger than most of the guys on the football team." I say, having a flashback to the time the quarterback in freshman year made her drop her ice cream and ended up with a broken nose and sprained ankle, which makes me shudder a little.

"Got it." He says as we arrive at the room. I stand by the door waiting and Austin leans on the lockers behind me.

A couple of minutes later Trish strolls out of the room (she was being kept back by the teacher, getting lectured on how globes should not be used as bouncy balls or something like that) and smiles as she greets me. Then she sees Austin behind me and she looks annoyed. "Look out, Ally, _Blondie_ is stood behind you." She says, glaring at Austin.

"I know." I reply calmly. I figure it's probably best to just be upfront and tell her so we can move on quicker. "Austin's my friend now."

"WHAT!?" She shrieks and grabs me by the wrist, pulling me into the janitor's closet next to us. I just manage to call out to Austin to tell him to 'stay there' and 'we'll be right back' before we're into the dark closet with the door closed. "What the hell do you mean 'you're friends now'?"

"I mean just that." I respond. "Austin and I are friends now."

"Ally, are you out of your mind?" Trish asks exasperatedly. "What in the world would make you want to be friends with that douchebag?"

"You know, Trish, he's really not that bad. All those rumours are complete lies; he's nothing like how he is made to be seen." I try to defend Austin but I don't think Trish is buying it.

"Really?" She asks. She opens the door and points to Austin, surrounded by and being clung to by the popular girls. "Cause he sure doesn't _look_ like he's different at all!"

My heart sinks a little at the sight, but I know that Austin's not really enjoying it. Is he?

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

I should have known it was a bad idea to just stay stood there alone in the hallway whilst Ally and Trish were in the closet. I'd been stood there for no more than a minute before _they_ showed up. ' _They_ ' obviously being Violet, Carrie, Tilly and Kimmy.

"Hey Austy!" Tilly used the usual greeting, claiming a spot wrapped around my right arm. Here we go.

"Hi Austin, miss me?" Carrie claims the other arm.

"Austy! Hi!" Kimmy says, giggling and shoving Tilly out of the way to claim the right arm… which only led to them getting in a mini cat-fight over who gets to wrap themselves around me like a boa constrictor. Wonderful.

"Ignore them, Austy, focus on me instead." Violet almost purred, taking the now vacant spot at my right arm and blocking the fighting blonde girls out of my view.

"We haven't seen you in a while, Austy." Carrie says in a pouty tone, with a face to match.

"I spoke to you this morning." I deadpan back.

"But that's still too long to go without you!" Carrie says back.

At this point Tilly and Kimmy simultaneously stop fighting and both rush round to cling onto my chest like their lives depended on it.

"So, Austy, you got a date for prom? I'm totally available." Tilly winks at me, and I fight off the urge to throw up all over them… even though it might teach them a lesson… nah, wouldn't work.

"Umm, Tilly? Prom's not for another nine months." I reply.

"So!? Never too early to plan the perfect night with the perfect guy!" She practically shrieks, before hugging me round the waist, and with Violet and Carrie hanging off my arms I can't really do anything to push her away, so I have to just stand there and pray for help.

I see the door of the janitor's closet open and the heads of Ally and Trish peek out in my direction. Trish looks revolted, and I can completely understand why, and Ally looks… almost hurt, or disappointed. I send her a desperate sign for help through my eyes, and when I do this I can see her relax a little as she realises that this is not my intention. I mouth to them "HELP ME" and Ally starts to giggle but Trish still looks sceptical.

Ally whispers something to Trish and gives her a look, but Trish finally rolls her eyes and I can see rather than hear her say "Fine." Before walking over to us and loudly whistling to catch the popular girls' attention.

"What do you want, curls?" Violet asks, glaring at Trish. I can see Trish tense up, but she manages to plaster a smile on her face before speaking.

"Hey, girls, you know there's a sale on for fake nails and make-up in the parking lot but only for another…" She pretends to check her watch. "Three minutes?" She asks in a fake girly voice.

"Oh, my, God, we need to go!" Kimmy squeals, and Tilly, Violet and Carrie all agree before all scuttling off down the hallway, shouting out that they love me over their shoulders. I'm just glad they're gone, for now at least.

"Thank God!" I breath out a sigh of relief. "Cheers, Trish, I owe you one." I say.

"I still don't trust you, Blondie, but if Ally wants to be your friend then I'll try my best." She says as Ally walks over to us, beaming.

"Have a nice time, _Austy_?" Ally asks when she arrives, imitating the popular girls and getting a giggle from Trish.

"Watch it, Dawson." I reply jokingly as we walk down the hallway towards the main entrance. "So, you've shown me your friend and now it's time for you to meet mine. Well, my best friend anyway."

We walk out the doors and Dez is waiting for me at the top of the stairs like I texted him telling him to.

"Guys, this is my best friend Dez, Dez this is my new friend Ally and her new friend Trish." I say pointing between the redhead and the girls.

"Nice to meet you, Dez." Ally says politely.

"Freckles!?" Trish asks with a scowl on her face.

"Wait, you two know each other already?" I ask indicating between Trish and Dez.

"Oh yes. I know _Patricia_." Dez answers, and Trish seems to get annoyed by Dez's use of her full name… so I'm guessing Dez did that on purpose.

"Yeah. The redhead and I were dance partners Freshman year." Trish continues to explain. "Well, I use the term 'dance' lightly… it seems Dez wouldn't know what dancing was if it smacked him right round his stupid face!" She gets very angry very quickly and I'm suddenly nervous in her presence.

"Well it would have helped if, like I suggested many times, you lifted me and not the other way round!" Dez replied angrily and I knew that me and Ally had no chance of getting a word in from then on.

"But it's your fault that you're too weak to even lift a girl in the first place!"

I could tell what thought entered Dez's mind and I was just hoping and praying that he wouldn't say what I thought he was going to say.

It seems Ally had the same thought as me, though, as I felt a hand on my shoulder and heard Ally whisper in my ear "Just back away slowly, and when he says it, we run." I nodded my agreement and moved with her, slowly enough so that it wouldn't be too noticeable, even though at the same time I knew they were both deeply absorbed in the argument.

"Well maybe I _would_ have been able to lift you" ' _This is your last chance Dez, please, for your own good, don't say it!_ ' "if you didn't _weigh_ so much!"

Well shit. He said it.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

The instant those words left Dez's mouth, and without even having to look at each other to check if we were ready, Austin and I literally full-on sprinted away from them down the steps and around the corner, but to be honest I don't really think either Dez nor Trish realised we were going.

We ran, laughing with each other, towards the parking lot. Austin led me to his car and I got in, he didn't even need to ask if I needed a lift since we were both half-laughing, half-afraid of the situation.

There is no doubt that Trish would have just gone completely psycho on Dez after that comment. Poor guy. But he did kinda ask for it.

Austin pulled out of the parking lot and out onto the road. "So where do you live? I'll take you home." He offered as we stopped laughing and settled into the drive.

"Oh no I'm not going home, I need to go to work." I explain and he nods.

"Cool, so where do you work then?"

"Just drop me off at the mall, that'd be great." I reply with a smile and he nods in response.

He flicks on the radio to avoid a silence, which I'm thankful for. We both start humming along to the song at first, but by the end of it we're full-on singing our hearts out. Austin has a really nice voice, and I actually think our two voices complement each other really well, we have natural harmonies.

By the time the song finishes we were just pulling up outside the mall. I lean over and give Austin a quick hug, thanking him for the ride before hopping out the car and waving to him before closing the door and walking off into the mall.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

Ally's voice is beautiful. There is no other way to describe it. Well, actually, there are many ways; gorgeous, enchanting, stunning, amazing, incredible, _perfect_.

But, as we were singing along to the radio together and I heard the way our voices suited each other perfectly, I realised something.

All those words I was using, I wasn't really describing Ally's voice. I was describing Ally.

Ally is perfect.

And I think I have a crush on her.

But this all just seems crazy! I've known her for three days, and she didn't even like me as a friend until about an hour ago! And yet, I already feel like I know her inside and out and she's the same with me, I feel so much happier when she's around me, I feel more comfortable when she's in the room, and I know for certain my heart sank like a rock when she had to get out of the car when we reached the mall.

Suddenly the car was just the car again, not the centre of all that's good in the world like it was when we were singing together on the drive. Suddenly the radio was boring to me, as nothing else could replace the sound of her angelic singing. And suddenly I felt alone.

If these aren't the signs of a crush, I don't know what are.

But it's stupid, and I know it's stupid, and I _feel_ stupid for allowing my stupid self to think stupid thoughts! Like I said, Ally didn't even want to be my friend until today, so obviously she's not going to feel the same towards me.

But I can hope. And hope I shall!

I decide it's probably best for me to just push those thoughts out of my head, for a while at least. I drive home, and find the house is a complete mess. There's a note left on the counter, like yesterday, but this one says that my dad's gone out for a drink and my mom's out on a walk clearing her mind, as they'd had a 'minor disagreement'. Well, that explained the condition of the house – 'minor' my ass.

I quickly straighten up most of the furniture, before deciding that they can do the rest and going upstairs to my room.

I figure I should probably at least check that Dez is still living after him and Trish had a 'minor disagreement' of their own earlier. I fear that the weight comment was almost certainly a step too far, which is why Ally and I didn't stick around to see what Trish would do next.

I call him and he picks up on the third ring. "Hey buddy." He says in his normal cheery voice. Phew, he's still breathing, then.

"Hey Dez, you okay?" I ask, still worried about his physical condition.

"Oh yeah I'm great, why wouldn't I be?" He responds as if it's the stupidest question in the world.

"I was just worried about what might have happened during the 'conversation' between you and Trish… you know that weight comment was probably a step too far, dude."

"Are you kidding me?" He asks with a hint of a laugh in his voice. "What you and Ally saw was _nothing_ compared to our normal arguments, man. Trust me, I know how to handle it with her, everything's fine."

"Okay, if you're sure she hasn't crippled you in any way…"

I hear Dez laugh again. "No, Austin, she hasn't. Not recently, anyway." I decide not to comment on that last part. "So anyway, Ally seems nice."

"Yeah, she really is. I really like her, Dez." I say, almost getting lost in a daydream thinking about her. Wow, I've really fallen hard.

"Oh, is this a really like her or a really _like her_ like her?" He asks and I can hear the smirk in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah, you were right the other day. I _do_ have a crush on her."

"A-ha! I knew it!"

"BUT! In my defence, I didn't even realise I liked her until we left after your argument today."

"No matter! I still _knew_ that you would like her, that's why they call me _'The Love Whisperer'._ " He whispers the last part.

"Nobody calls you that." I reply in the same whisper voice. "But yeah, I think she's perfect." I find myself getting lost as I think about her beautiful brown eyes and perfect hair, and I can faintly hear a mumbly voice in my ear as I almost forget I'm on the phone to Dez. "Huh? Say that again, buddy."

"You were just thinking about her, weren't you?" I can again hear that annoying smirk.

"Whaaaaaat?" I ask in an abnormally high voice. "Okay, maybe." I add meekly.

"Ha! See! I do know about this stuff!" He sounds triumphant and pleased with himself. "And I said, what made you realise that she is, as you say, perfect?"

"It was just when we were in the car, when we left midway through your argument, we had the radio on and we were singing along and having fun, and something just clicked in my mind." I smile fondly at the memories.

"Aww, how cute." Dez's voice again shatters my daydream at the memories. "But I'm warning you, Austin, you had better not just dump Ally like you do with all the other girls. She's a really nice girl."

"Dez, you don't even need to worry about that. I mean it's not like she'd ever feel the same about me, anyway."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Austin. I mean, you're that popular with the ladies for a reason, it will eventually happen to Ally too I'm sure of it."

"Yeah, right." I reply.

"Listen to the love whisperer Austin! I'm always right and you know it!" He taunts.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I hope you're right, anyway. I gotta go, see you tomorrow okay?"

"Okay buddy, good luck with Ally."

And with that he rings off, leaving me thinking about what he said. He has a point, lots of girls are obsessed with me and there must be a reason for that… but will Ally be the same? For some reason I find myself doubting it…

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

I walk into Sonic Boom and greet my Dad like normal, with a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

But again, like yesterday, I can smell alcohol in his breath as he speaks to me, and it seems to be a little stronger than yesterday too. I decide not to confront him about it, at least not yet. I mean I don't really have any sort of evidence or reason to ask. He's still acting like his normal self.

We go through the usual routine of me doing my homework and having a snack in the practice room, going downstairs, taking over the store and saying bye to my dad.

The store is busier tonight and I don't have as much time to myself. I wanted to call Trish and ask what happened after we left but I don't get time to. Never mind, it can wait.

Eventually it's time to close up, and I am _exhausted_ , that was the busiest shift I've had in quite a while.

I drag myself home, looking forward to my nice comfortable bed. By the time I get home it's just after 10, and normally by this point both my parents are in bed, which is why I'm surprised when I walk in to find light coming from the kitchen.

I walk in and see my mom sat at the table, a cold cup of coffee in her hands, just staring into space, seemingly in shock. "Mom? Are-are you okay?" I ask a little nervously.

She doesn't seem to even notice I was there, and jumps a little when I start to speak. "Oh, hi honey, yes I'm fine, just had a long day at work is all." I don't believe her but decide not to press for any more information.

"Oh, okay. Um, where's dad?" I ask, spying a few beer bottles in the trash can behind her. At the word 'dad' she freezes up a little.

"He's in bed already dear, you know he likes his sleep." She replies with a fairly pathetic smile. This definitely doesn't feel right but I'm too tired to try and confront my mom about it now.

"Right, well I'm going to bed, are you okay to lock up before you go upstairs?" I ask.

"Yes of course, you go and get some sleep. I'll lock up, besides I'm going to sleep down here tonight anyway. I need to be straight out in the morning and I don't want to disturb anyone." She says.

"Ummm… okay. Well, goodnight then." I say and turn to leave the kitchen.

"Goodnight honey, sleep well, I love you!" She says as I walk out, and I call a 'love you too' over my shoulder as I reach the stairs.

I can hear my dad's heavy snoring as I pass their bedroom, so at least I can rest a little easier knowing that she wasn't lying about him being asleep already.

I do my usual bedtime routine and I'm asleep practically as soon as I get into bed.

. . . . .

 **That was chapter eight! I hope you enjoyed it and if you did make sure to leave a review!**

 **So Austin and Ally are now friends (yay!) AND Austin has realised he has feelings for Ally! Will he choose to act on these feelings and try and get Ally to feel the same way, and if so how? Also, what's happening with Ally's parents? And Austin's parents? Leave your ideas in a review!**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite, review, and leave suggestions and questions! It means a lot to me!**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Nine: Popularity (Part 1 of 2)**

 _Ally's POV_

It seems I forgot to close my curtains when I went to bed last night, because I wake up with the sun pounding strongly on my forehead, accompanied by a painful headache. What a great way to start my day.

I do my usual morning routine and get dressed into a red and white striped long sleeved top with a black skirt and black leggings, with my red flats. I pull my hair into a tight high ponytail and curl the ends of my hair gently, before applying light make-up to complete the look.

I grab an apple on my wait out the door and meet Trish like usual. "Hey Trish." I greet with a grin as I take another bite of my apple.

"Hey Ally." She replies. "Sorry I didn't come see you at Sonic Boom last night."

"No problem, it was pretty busy anyway so I wouldn't have had much of a chance to talk to you anyway." I reply. "Okay, what was all that about with you and Dez yesterday?" I ask, thinking back to yesterday's argument after school.

"Ugh, it's nothing really, that carrot-top just really knows how to push my buttons." She replies.

"You said it started when you were dance partners in freshman year…" I prompt her, wanting to learn more about this rivalry between them. "What happened?"

"Let's just say that he and I had more than a few 'creative differences' when it came to dancing. I mean I know I'm not an amazing dancer or anything but when I had to work with him it was like _nothing_ could ever go right. We just kept stepping on each other's toes… literally!" She explained.

"What, and you've just hated each other ever since?" I ask.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Well, maybe we can try and change that. I mean if me and Austin have become friends then I'm sure you can do the same with Dez." I say optimistically, hoping she'll agree to at least _try_. Dez seemed, to me at least, like a nice guy, after all.

"We'll see. But speaking of, you still haven't told me everything – how and why are you now friends with _Blondie_!?" She says with a small amount of disgust in her voice.

"I told you Trish, Austin's actually a nice guy. All those rumours about him aren't true! He's just a nice guy who dreams of being a rock star."

"And he just told you all this?"

"Well he tried, but at first I didn't believe him either. I thought he was just faking to try and make himself look better, and like you I couldn't believe that he would be anything other than a monster based on his reputation. But in music class, remember how I told you we had a project about our dreams?"

Trish nods.

"Well his performance was just… special. He wrote a song about how he's determined to follow his dreams no matter what people think of him or how much they don't believe in him, and it was just so beautiful, so genuine." I smile as I think back to his song. "Trust me Trish, if you were in the room when he performed you would be the same as me."

I can tell Trish isn't really too impressed by my explanation. "Yeah… well, unfortunately, I wasn't there to hear his 'amazing performance', so until he can prove otherwise to _me_ , I'm still keeping my guard up around him."

"Fair enough." I reply, as I take the last bite of my apple and throw it into the nearby trash can, just as we arrive at the school.

"Oh look, there's your new bestie now." Trish says in a slightly sarcastic voice, pointing to where Austin is stood by the steps with Dez and two other guys I don't recognise.

Austin looks over one of the guys' shoulders and sees me and Trish. He smiles and waves us over, so I drag Trish with me in his direction, despite her complaints about wanting to go and find the girls instead.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

"Good morning Ally. Good morning Trish." I say brightly to each of the girls respectively as they reach me and the guys. Ally responds with an equally bright smile and a small wave, whilst Trish just looks uninterested and inspects her nails, although I do see her sneakily send Dez dagger eyes.

"Girls, meet the guys." I say. "This is Elliot and Alex, and you know Dez already." I hear Trish mutter 'unfortunately' after that last part. I'm just praying there isn't another argument, like yesterday.

"Hey, nice to meet you." Ally says to the two guys.

"Nice to meet you too." Elliot says, shaking her hand.

"'Sup." Is all Alex says, ignoring Ally's outstretched hand and looking over his shoulder. Man, I sometimes forget how much his attitude can stink sometimes. Come to think of it, he's been like this for the last couple of days. I wonder why…

"Okayyyy…" I say when the silence gets a little awkward. "So, as you can tell these guys are my real friends, _not_ the jocks and definitely not the popular girls." I explain. "Although these three do like to constantly taunt me and laugh whenever the she-devils decided it's time to fling themselves at me." I say and they all give a small smile and nod slightly, even Alex.

"Well it is kinda funny to see." Ally comments.

"See, she's with us!" Elliot exclaims happily, as if he had come up with a new theory of relativity that had just been proven. Ally just laughs at him – understandably, he's almost as stupid as Dez sometimes. Speaking of…

"Hey Ally, you wanna hear about the time my turtle flew a rocket to the moon?" Dez asks enthusiastically.

Ally looks at me over his shoulder, and I frantically send her signals telling her to say no.

"Uhh… sure?" She replies, and Alex, Elliot and I all face-palm and groan slightly in annoyance.

And that's how we spent the next thirty minutes listening to Dez's story. That I'd already heard at least a hundred times. And it wasn't even a good story the first time.

By the end Alex has his head leaned back against the wall, eyes closed, clearly in pain from every word, Elliot's lost in a world of his own and Trish is slowly jabbing herself in the arm with her recently sharpened nail. Finger nail, that is. She's not some psycho lunatic who brings an actual nail into school with her – at least I don't think so. Ally is just sat there with a completely dead look on her face (but she still looks beautiful to me – I know, I'm cute). I'm slightly concerned that she's not actually breathing anymore, until she slowly shakes her head and just mutters. "Wow."

I think she learned her lesson. 'I told you!' I mouth to her when she looks my way, and she just smiles.

Mercifully, before Dez can tell another of his stories the bell rings and we have to go inside. I walk to homeroom with Ally and Trish, and sit with them this time instead of on my own at the back like normal. A few people give weird looks over at us – I guess it must be a little weird for them to see the most popular guy at school sitting with a shy nerd and her friend – but I couldn't care less.

I find myself easily talking to Ally all the way through homeroom, there are never any silences, awkward or otherwise, and it's great. I just feel so comfortable around her, like I did in the car yesterday, and I'm just falling for her harder and harder with every second.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

It was morning break. Trish went and spent it with the girls, as I'd expected she would, but I stayed with Austin and Dez – Elliot and Alex weren't with us, but I don't know where they were. But quite frankly, I didn't particularly care.

Dez is so sweet. Yes, he is incredibly thick and probably genuinely crazy, but he's lovely and kind and funny too. I can already tell that I'll never be bored when I'm around Dez; he always finds a way to make you laugh or just bring some sort of energy to the situation.

And Austin has completely lived up to my expectations, he really is the opposite of the person the rumours make him out to be. He has been nothing but kind, sweet and courteous to me, and we get along like a house on fire. Which is a weird expression, because a house on fire is pretty much always a bad thing, yet it's used to describe a good thing? Whatever, it works.

After break is mine and Austin's free period, but it's raining today so we can't go outside like we normally would. Instead, we head over to the common room, which is a large room that is basically just an area to hang out and do whatever. It's quite nice in there, there are loads of comfy chairs and bean bags and a few bookshelves lining the walls.

Not many people tend to really use it, but it's busier on days like today when the weather's not nice enough for everyone to go outside. There are quite a few people scattered around inside, but no one I really know that well, if at all.

We walk over and sit on one of the sofas in the far corner of the room to talk. I can feel everyone's eyes on us as we make our way across the centre of the room, but I don't care. I know the real Austin, and that's who I'm friends with, and that's all that matters to me.

"Your song in music yesterday was incredible." I say as we sit down on the sofa together. "Where did you get your inspiration for it?"

"Well it's exactly like I told you when we were outside the other day. My parents don't support music as my choice of career, but I don't want to let that get in the way of my dreams. When I was writing the song, I was just thinking about everything they'd ever said to try and convince me that it was stupid." He explains, and I remember our previous discussion like he mentioned. Wow, back then I still didn't believe that he wasn't a jerk. That feels like years ago, when in fact it was only a couple of days.

"Have you ever tried anything aside from music? Like, taken their advice?" I ask, curious.

"No, not really." He replies. "I mean, there have been plenty of times when I've believed them and started to think myself that I'd never be successful or happy. That's where the first half of the chorus comes from – tell me I've got it wrong, tell me everything will be okay, before I fall. That's basically me hoping that I'm wrong for thinking that it'll all go horribly wrong and I'll be a failure."

"Yeah, I sort of noticed that when you were singing it, but to be honest I think I was too lost in your voice to properly think about and understand the lyrics." I say with a small chuckle. "You're a lot more sensitive than your reputation makes us believe."

"That's what you're learning by being my friend, Ally. Most of the things my reputation says about me aren't true."

"Yeah, I can already tell. I mean I never truly believed all of them, some of them are just so insane."

"Oh yeah, what's the worst or weirdest rumour you've heard about me?" He asks with a smirk and a chuckle.

"Oh, so many to choose from." I say, thinking about it for a minute. "Well the _worst_ one I've heard is that you got a girl in England pregnant and then just left never to speak to her again…"

"WHAT!?" He says loudly, and a few people turn to look but he just smiles and apologises to them.

"And the _weirdest_ one I've heard is that you wanted to have sex with a girl but didn't have a condom so you used an empty Doritos bag."

"WHAT!?" He yelled, and even more people turned around. Again he apologised and they turned away again. "Ally, you know neither of those are true, right?" He asks, a hint of desperation in his voice.

"I don't knooooow," I say, joking with him. "I mean apparently you've been with so many girls then anything could have happened really."

"Ally, I haven't 'been with so many girls'. I'm a virgin!" He says quietly, looking me dead in the eyes.

"Really?" I ask, shocked.

"Why so surprised?" He asks with a smile.

"Well, I mean, I don't know…" I stammer. "I mean it's fairly obvious that you're not exactly ugly."

His smile grows bigger and brighter. "I know right." He says cockily, and I groan in annoyance at his ego. He laughs. "I'm just kidding with you, Als, I'm not that arrogant person really."

I smile when he calls me Als, that's a cute nickname and nobody's ever called me that before. Als. I like it.

"Is it alright if I call you Als, by the way?" He asks quickly. I smile at the hint of nervousness on his face.

"Sure, it's cute." I reply. "But I don't think either of us will mind if I don't call you Austy." I joke, and we both shudder slightly as even hearing the word 'Austy' makes us think of the popular girls all over him. I don't know why that makes me shudder, but it does.

"No, please don't." He says before we both start laughing a little. "So, how is the love life of Miss Ally Dawson?" He asks with a slight smirk.

I can feel myself blush and I look down at my hands, which are suddenly very interesting to me. "Non-existent." I say quietly. But he hears.

"What do you mean, non-existent?" He asks.

"Exactly that. I have no love life. I've never had a boyfriend before." I look up as I say this, and I catch a strange glint in his eye… is it joy? Happiness? Hope? That's weird.

"What, never?" He asks and I shake my head. "So you've never been on a date?" I again shake my head. "Never been kissed?" Another head shake. "Wow, well why not?" He asks.

"Because no one's ever liked me, I guess." I say, a little sadly. I don't really like talking about this stuff, but I feel comfortable discussing it with Austin. "I mean it's not like I've purposefully tried to avoid it. I guess guys just aren't interested in short, non-cheerleading nerdy introverts." I say with a sigh, looking back down at my hands.

We're both silent for a few seconds and it feels like it should be awkward, but for some reason it's not. Then I feel a warm hand placed gently under my chin. "Hey, look at me." Austin's voice is gentle, and I do as he asks and look up. "I think you're a beautiful, talented, awesome girl and any guy would be lucky to have you as his girlfriend."

I'm in shock – no guy has ever said something that nice about me before, and now _Austin_ is saying it! Could it be at all possible that… no, no that's crazy! There's no way in hell Austin would actually like me, right?

And yet the look in his eyes when he said that to me seemed to be leading me to believe otherwise… no, get that out of your head, Ally!

"Uh… thanks, Austin. That's sweet. You're a great friend." I say before giving him a hug. Yeah, a great friend. Friend.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

A great friend. A great friend. I'm a great friend. Whoop-de-doo. Friend. I mean I don't know what I was expecting Ally to say after I said all that to her, which probably hinted quite strongly at the fact that I may have feelings for her.

Maybe that's why she said it. She knew that I like her but she doesn't feel the same way, so she said I was a great friend to try and shut it down. Well isn't this great.

I hold her extra tight as she hugs me, savouring the moment. If I'm only going to be her friend, I'm at least going to make the most of the times when I can allow myself to imagine even for a second that we're more than that. And this is one of those times.

"No problem, Als, it's the truth." I say in her ear as we continue to hug. I'm just praying that what I said won't make this awkward or anything.

I feel her start to pull away from the hug, and my first instinct is to pull her back in and hold her tighter, but I know that would be creepy and awkward so I just let go and pull back too. We smile at each other, but mine is more of a sad smile that I'm trying desperately to make seem happy.

We talk casually for the rest of the free period, and I really do enjoy spending this time with her. She's amazing, and it's just annoying that she doesn't really know it herself.

When the bell goes for the end of the free period we walk to Chemistry together. The lesson again passes by quickly, and once again we nail the experiment.

At lunch Ally decides to go and sit with Trish and some other girls who I don't know, and I sit with Dez, Alex and Elliot like normal.

"Hey guys." I say as I sit down, doing my 'what-up' handshake with Dez that we've done since we were kids.

We talk as we eat, like normal. The rain's stopped by now, so we go outside.

"So, Ally seems really nice." Elliot pipes up as we walk through the doors.

"Yeah, agreed." Dez adds.

Alex just nods and looks straight ahead.

"Yeah she is, I'm sure you'll all get along with her great. And her friend, Trish, although she's a little… feisty."

"Ha, feisty is an understatement." Dez says. "The girl's insane."

"Anyway, never mind that." I interrupt, before Dez can get into one of his rants.

"Hey, Austin, me and Elliot are going to the football try-outs tonight. You gonna come too?" Alex says, still just looking straight ahead.

"Nah, man, I think I'll pass. You know I don't even really like football anyway. In fact, I'm kinda surprised you two are, you never have before. Why now?" I reply. It's true; none of us four have ever really been too interested in football before.

"It's junior year, bro. We've only got two years left here, I figured I might as well give it a go and see what happens before it's too late." He replies.

"Alright, cool, have fun with that. Just don't become one of those stupid, mindless bullying jocks, you're better than that."

Alex doesn't respond to that, instead just announcing that he's going for a smoke and practically dragging Elliot with him off towards the area round the back.

"Hey Dez have you noticed that Alex has been acting a bit strange lately?" I ask him as we continue to walk.

"No, not really, have you?" He replies.

"Yeah, I have. He hasn't been talking as much, he hasn't been joining in with the normal jokes we have, he's just seemed more distant and moody."

"Hmm, it's probably nothing. He's most likely just tired and a little stressed; it _is_ the start of junior year."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I reply. I hope he's right, Alex is a good guy, and I don't want him to change.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

I sit with the girls and Trish at lunch, because I didn't at morning break. The first five minutes or so are just business as usual, even though Brooke does give me a bit of a dirty look when she sits down a few minutes after we get there.

"So, Ally, word on the wire is you're now friends with Austin." Piper says before putting a fork of pasta into her mouth.

As soon as she says that I hear Brooke's own fork slammed down on the table, and look up to see her trying to kill me with her eyes. What's her problem? I turn back to Piper to answer her.

"Uh, yeah, I guess we kinda are." I say meekly. I take another split-second glance over at Brooke, who is still glaring at me.

" _Just_ friends?" Cassidy asks, wiggling her eyebrows, and Brooke looks like she's gonna lose it any second. "It's about time you got your move on, girl." She adds with a smile.

"Yes, Cassidy, _just_ friends." I reply firmly. Brooke shoots me a look that says 'it had better be just friends'.

"Are you suuure?" Trish joins in. Thanks Trish. I need to remember to talk to her about this later.

"Of course she's sure!" Brooke finally speaks up. "I mean why would Austin date _her_? We went over this yesterday!"

"Oh shut up Brooke!" Piper snaps back. "Ally has _just_ as much chance of being with Austin as you do." Wow, nobody's ever really stood up for me like that before.

"Ugh!" Brooke groans, before standing up and flouncing out of the room. Again.

"Thanks for having my back there, Piper." I say timidly.

"No problem, Brooke can be a real bitch sometimes, especially if it's anything Austin-related. She _worships_ that guy, it's borderline creepy." She says with a gentle laugh.

It's great that Piper supported me, but she didn't say that what she said to Brooke was true. So was it?

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

It's the end of the day and I drive home as normal. Surprisingly, both my parents are in when I get home, for a change. They told me they closed the store a little earlier today and decided to just come home.

They seemed to be getting along better, which was a relief, but part of me also thought it wouldn't last very long, and that was proved right when an hour later I heard them shouting at each other downstairs. Which, let me tell you, is _very_ distracting when you're trying to write a French essay.

When all my work is done I grab my electric guitar (the one that looks like an A, remember?) and start to strum on it gently. But I guess I get a little too into it as I end up breaking one of the strings. Great, now I have to go and buy a new one.

I go back out and get in my car and drive to the mall. I'm pretty sure I saw a music store somewhere in there.

I walk around the mall for about five minutes until I find the store I'm looking for: Sonic Boom. I've only been once, a few years ago, when I needed a new cymbal for my drum kit.

I walk through the doors and find the shop is empty, there's not a single customer inside. But there is someone stood behind the counter. "Ally?" I say, and she looks up, beaming at me.

"Hey Austin, what are you doing here?" She says happily. Well, at least she's glad to see me.

"Ally, you work here? In a _music_ store?" I ask in disbelief. That's like my dream job!

"Yeah, my dad owns this place." She replies.

"Why didn't you tell me? This is awesome!" I say enthusiastically as I look around.

"I'm sorry, I guess it just never came up. Now, what can I do for you?" She asks, suddenly going all professional.

"Oh I just need a new guitar string, I sorta broke one on my electric guitar by accident." I say sheepishly. I look up, and hanging on the wall is my idea of perfection. "Woah!" I say, running over to the bright yellow electric guitar on display. Yellow's my favourite colour.

"You like it?" She asks with a small giggle. "And I'll be right back with your guitar string." She says before walking into some back room which I'm guessing is like a store cupboard.

"Like it? I love it, it's perfect!" I call out as I stare at it, wishing I had the money to buy it.

"Here you go." She says as she walks back out of the room and over to me, handing me a small cardboard box.

"Great, thanks, how much is it?" I ask as I start to get out my wallet.

"Oh don't worry, you can have that one on me." She says with a smile.

"Really? Are you sure?" I ask, returning the smile.

"Yeah, as a thank you for visiting me. It gets kinda boring in here when there's no customers, like now."

"Yeah, I bet. What do you do to keep yourself entertained?" I ask.

"It depends. Sometimes I do homework, sometimes I read a book, sometimes I write a song…"

"Hey, I have an idea." I say. "Both our songs in music absolutely kicked butt. Why don't we try writing one together?"

She smiles brightly. "Yeah, that could be fun. Hold on a sec." She walks over to the door and changes the sign from open to closed, before turning to face me. "It's gonna be quiet anyway, might as well close up the shop so we can work in peace." She explains. "Follow me." She says before walking over to the staircase.

I follow her up the stairs and she leads me over to a door. "Ta-da!" She says as she opens it, revealing a room with a large grand piano, a sofa, beanbags and a mini-fridge, with a big 'A' on the wall. "This is my practice room, where I just chill out during my breaks and after school before my shift properly begins. It's like my second home." She says as I look around.

"It's awesome!" I reply.

She walks over and sits on the piano stool, patting the spot next to her indicating that I should sit there, which of course I don't hesitate to do. I like sitting this close to her; I can feel our shoulders brushing slightly.

"Okay, so, what should the song be about?" She asks.

"Hmmm… well, it needs to be something relatable." I say. "Something that teenagers today really care about…"

"Yeah, definitely… something that people seem to define their life by and care a lot about, teenagers especially."

"How about popularity?" I suggest.

. . . . .

 **There you go! I hope you enjoyed chapter nine and if you did make sure to leave a review!**

 **So Austin and Ally have decided to write a song together, and their friendship is going well, all things considered. But Brooke is definitely still not happy, and it seems neither is Alex.**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite, review, and leave suggestions and questions! It means a lot to me!**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **We're already ten chapters into this story! It feels like I only started writing it yesterday!**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Ten: Popularity (Part 2 of 2)**

 _Austin's POV_

 _She walks over and sits on the piano stool, patting the spot next to her indicating that I should sit there, which of course I don't hesitate to do. I like sitting this close to her; I can feel our shoulders brushing slightly._

" _Okay, so, what should the song be about?" She asks._

" _Hmmm… well, it needs to be something relatable." I say. "Something that teenagers today really care about…"_

" _Yeah, definitely… something that people seem to define their life by and care a lot about, teenagers especially."_

" _How about popularity?" I suggest._

"Yeah, that could work." Ally says, and starts to play a simple melody, which I then quickly add some chords to. It works.

"Nice!" I say. "So what particularly about popularity?"

"Hmmm…" we both think for a few seconds. "How about how some people look like they could never be 'popular' but they think it's really important and strive to become 'popular'?"

"Yeah, that could work, determination seems to be quite a good subject to write songs about, clearly." I joke and we both chuckle a little before playing more chords and melodies.

This is how the process continues for the next few hours, as we bounce ideas off each other and make suggestions and changes until we're happy with the finished product.

 **(Link to this song:** **watch?v=-04pUETT7oI)**

 _Stop, don't say that it's impossible_

 _'Cause I know it's possible_

 _Though I know you never look my way_

 _I can say; you will one day_

 _I can say you will one day_

 _._

 _I will be popular, I will be popular_

 _I'm gonna get there, popular_

 _My body wants you girl_

 _My body wants you girl_

 _I'll get you when I'm popular_

 _._

 _I'll put my hands up in the light_

 _You'll see me dancing for my life_

 _I will be popular, I will be popular_

 _I'm gonna get there, popular_

 _._

 _Spread the news I'm gonna take the fight_

 _For the spotlight, day and night_

 _I can take this to the number one_

 _Be someone, before you're gone_

 _Be someone before you're gone_

 _._

 _I will be popular, I will be popular_

 _I'm gonna get there, popular_

 _My body wants you girl_

 _My body wants you girl_

 _I'll get you when I'm popular_

 _I'll put my hands up in the light_

 _You'll see me dancing for my life_

 _I will be popular, I will be popular_

 _I'm gonna get there, popular_

 _._

 _Oh, pop, oh pop, oh popular_

 _Oh, pop, oh pop, oh popular_

 _Oh, pop, oh pop, oh popular_

 _Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh_

 _._

 _I will be popular, I will be popular_

 _I'm gonna get there_

 _My body wants you girl_

 _My body wants you girl_

 _I'll get you when I'm popular_

 _I'll put my hands up in the light_

 _You'll see me dancing for my life_

 _I will be popular, I will be popular_

 _Popular_

 **(Song: Popular by Eric Saade: Eurovision 2011 – Sweden)**

After we'd written the song, we played it through a few times with me singing, and agreed that we're both really happy with it. It sounds like it could be a hit on the radio! Man, song-writing with Ally is _so_ much easier than trying to write songs on my own! We really are a great team.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

Austin's voice, and to be honest his overall look, suited the song we wrote absolutely perfectly! It's definitely the sort of song that you would expect Austin to sing, let's put it that way. Well, maybe not as his real self, but definitely based on his school reputation.

After we've finished playing through the song for a third time (and Austin absolutely nailed it) I glanced at my phone to check the time, and nearly had a heart attack when I saw that it was already 10:30! I guess time flies when you're having fun… and that was _definitely_ the most fun evening I've had in quite some time.

"Oh man, I need to get home, it's 10:30 already!" I say as I jump up off the piano stool and run over to the windows to lock them.

Austin stayed sat at the bench for a few seconds before also getting up and putting his phone into his pocket. "Yeah, me too."

We walk out of Sonic Boom and I triple-check that the door is locked, as usual. We walk through the mall together towards the exit. The mall's practically empty now, most of the stores are already closed and there are just a couple left open and a few last-minute shoppers scurrying around like mice.

Austin goes to walk towards the car park. "I'll see you tomorrow." I say as I start to walk out towards the street.

"Woah, woah, wait, you're walking home?" He calls out after me and I stop and turn around to face him.

"Uh, yeah, I always walk home." I reply.

"Come on, I'll give you a lift." He says nodding towards the car park.

"No, it's okay, I can walk." I say with a smile. "Thanks, though."

"No, Ally, seriously, come on I'm giving you a lift. I don't want you walking through the streets alone this late." He says in a more serious tone.

"Austin, relax, I'll be fine. I do it every day." I say and turn back around. I'm about to call out a goodnight over my shoulder, when he speaks up again.

"Well, then, you leave me no choice." I turn around to see what he's talking about only to find myself being picked up into his arms and carried towards the car park.

"Austin, put me down!" I say whilst laughing, as he gently tickles my sides whilst he carries me.

"Never!" He says back in a mock-fierce way, before tickling me harder, making me laugh louder.

"Okay, okay, I'll let you give me a lift, just put me down." I say, squirming around trying to avoid his tickling hands.

"Fine." He says, pretending to be annoyed, which doesn't really work due to the huge smile on his face. He puts me down gently and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks for caring so much Austin." I say, leaning into his side.

"No problem." He replies.

A couple of minutes later we're at his car and we get in and he drives out. We're both singing the song we just wrote as he drives us through the quiet Miami streets. All too soon, we arrive at my house and it's finally time to say goodnight.

"Goodnight Austin. Thanks for making my night more enjoyable. And for giving me a lift home." I say as I grab my bag off the floor by my feet.

"No problem." He replies with a cool smile. "See you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Yeah." I reply with a smile.

I don't know what came over me, but I find myself leaning across and planting a kiss on his cheek, before quickly getting out of the car and practically running up the driveway to my house. What was that about!?

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

What a night this has been. I mean I went into Sonic Boom expecting to be straight in and out, but instead I got to spend the whole evening with the most amazing girl in the world (if only she knew it), and we wrote a kick-ass song too!

Plus, I got to carry her and hold her close to me, which just felt… right, like she belonged there. And of course, the highlight of my entire… well, _life_ , really, she kissed me on the cheek before she got out of the car! I could have sworn I heard angels singing in those few seconds her lips were on my cheek, and I was just glad it was kinda dark so she couldn't really see my face turn as red as a tomato. As soon as she closed the car door, though, I felt an enormous smile flood across my face and I felt like shouting and dancing around, but I was in a car so that wasn't really possible.

I drove home, in the best mood I think I have ever been in, and already I could not _wait_ to see Ally in school tomorrow. As I got home I checked my phone, and saw about 370 unread messages from the group chat with Dez, Elliot and Alex. Could I be bothered to read through and respond to them all now? No. No, I really couldn't.

It's only the fourth day back at school but already it feels like the fiftieth. Every day I'm finding it harder, and harder, and harder to drag myself out of bed in the mornings and force myself into the shower. Honestly, the only reason I'm really bothering is my dream of going to MUNY.

That and the fact that Ally's there.

I go through my usual morning routine and get dressed into a very pale blue denim shirt, worn open over a white v-neck, with light grey slim jeans and matching grey high tops, along with my whistle necklace and dog tags.

The morning goes as normal and before I know it it's morning break and I'm surrounded by the popular girls the instant I walk out of World History with Ally, who is immediately pushed to the side by them and almost instantly lost in the crowd.

"Hey Austy!" Squeaks Kimmy, in her usual giggly (and very annoying) way. "Guess who's head cheerleader!" She beamed brightly, before adding "Again!"

The other three gave Kimmy dirty looks before turning back to me and turning on the smiles.

"And I know how much you love cheerleaders, right?" Kimmy continues.

"Ummm… not really." I say quietly. Yeah, sure, cheerleaders are usually all hot, but honestly I much prefer normal girls… like Ally, for example.

"So, Austy, why weren't you at football try-outs last night?" Violet asks, pouting. "You know how it works, the football team – that should be you – always dates the cheerleaders – that's us, by the way."

' _Yeah, exactly!_ ' I think to myself, but instead just say "I dunno, just didn't wanna play football this year." and shrug.

"Well, Austin, you know we really shouldn't even talk to you if you're not on the football team, so you shouldn't be able to date us." Tilly says. I start to get my hopes up that they'll finally leave me alone. "But it doesn't matter! I still love you!" She then squeals, latching onto my arm. Damn.

"And me!" Violet.

"And me!" Carrie.

"And me!" Kimmy.

"But Kimmy you already have a boyfriend!" Carrie exclaims. "You're the head cheerleader, so you're dating that quarterback guy… what's his name… Aidan?"

"Alex." Kimmy says. "And who cares? I'd drop him for you, Austy, any day!" Before giggling again.

Wait, what? Alex!? Alex is the quarterback? I mean I knew he was going to the try-outs, but I didn't know if he was any good.

So now Alex is dating Kimmy, and to be honest I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing… maybe he can start to pull Kimmy away from hounding me (even though she did just say she'd drop Alex for me), but at the same time I just hope he isn't dragged away into the 'popular' group with all the other jocks, because if he did I'm fairly certain he'd just become a huge jerk. And even if he does do that, I hope he doesn't drag Elliot down that way with him.

Speaking of Alex, we've just got to the cafeteria, and guess who should come over but him. When he sees Kimmy practically attached to my arm he gives me the dirtiest look I've ever seen him give anyone before pretty much pulling her off me and spinning her round into his arms. "Hey baby." He says to her before leaning down and almost sucking her face off. I feel like throwing up watching it. I can't believe this is Alex.

"Hey Lexy-wexy." Kimmy says when they pull apart, resting her head on his shoulder. Lexy-wexy? Really?

He continues to glare at me before saying. "Come on babe, let's go sit down." Before dragging her off in the direction of the jock and cheerleader table, where I can also see Elliot sat, although he doesn't look like he's enjoying himself quite as much.

"Yeah, we better go." Carrie says. "Come on girls. Bye Austy, love you." She smiles at me before skipping over to their table, closely followed by Violet and Tilly.

"Did you enjoy that?" I hear a beautiful voice say behind me.

"What do you think?" I say as I turn to face Ally with a small smirk on my face.

"Well, most guys in your position would probably be having the time of their life, but knowing you I know that you hate it." She says as we walk over to our table where Dez and Trish are already sat, arguing as expected.

"Correct." I say, looking down at her with a smile.

She looks gorgeous today (well, she looks gorgeous everyday but you know what I mean). She's wearing a white long sleeve t-shirt decorated with black stars, with blue skinny jeans and sparkly black flats. Her hair is up in a high ponytail like yesterday, but this time all her hair is completely straight rather than the loose curls at the end she had.

I had to tear my gaze away before she could realise that I was staring, and did so just as we arrived at the table with the bickering pair. "Hey guys," Ally says as we sit down. "what's going on this time?"

"I didn't even say anything bad today!" Trish said defensively, putting her hands up in front of her. "Freckles here is just really moody and before I know it he's off having a go at me!"

"It's not my fault that some people are jerks that put me in a bad mood." Dez said sternly, glaring and looking down. Trish opened her mouth to retaliate but Dez put up a finger and spoke before she could. "And no, in this case I am not calling you the jerk. Although it's very tempting."

"It's about Alex, isn't it?" I said understandingly.

"Yes! Have you _seen_ him today?" Dez says, looking up at me with fire in his eyes. "He completely blanked me this morning, then when I said hi to him he called me a dork and walked off to the jocks!"

I try not to get too mad but it's really difficult. I knew this would happen. "Yeah. Well, he's the quarterback now, and with that title comes the other one 'World's Biggest Jerk', along with the entitlement of dating the head cheerleader and practically making babies in the middle of the hallway." I say sharply, shuddering at the memory.

Then I feel Ally's small hand placed comfortingly over mine, and I instantly feel all the tenseness leave my body. I turn my head and look at her, and she's just smiling sadly. "I'm sorry, guys." She says calmly. Her voice is soothing to me and I feel more relaxed every second I spend with her. "But I guess that's just high school life and teenagers for you. And this just proves Alex's true character. He's not deserving of you guys as friends, so _let_ him go be with the jocks. He's not worth getting mad over."

When she finishes she squeezes my hand a little and I offer her a sad smile. She's right. Completely right.

"Yeah, Ally's right. If he wants to go with them just let him. You've got us now, though." Trish adds, and I think all three of us are in shock for about a minute – I _never_ would have expected Trish to say something like that!

"Uh… yeah, th-that's right." Ally says, trying to regain her composure. "You do have us." Ally and I share a smile at that. It's crazy how close I feel to her after just four days knowing her.

"Yeah." I simply say. "Yeah we do."

My free period with Ally and our Chemistry lesson pass by quickly, and it's lunchtime. I tell Ally I'm going to my locker and that I'll meet her and the others in the cafeteria, before heading off down the hallway.

As I'm putting my stuff away in my locker, in the corner of my eye I see two people standing next to it, looking at me. It's Alex and Elliot. Alex has a somewhat evil smirk on his face, and Elliot looks a little sheepish and shy. Poor Elliot.

"What do _you_ want?" I say as I close my locker and turn to face them.

Alex lets out a very low chuckle, before turning dead serious. "Stay away from my girl." He says threateningly.

I can't believe it. At this moment I realise that my fears had become reality – Alex had completely fallen into the trap of 'popularity' and had become a complete jerk, like the rest of them. What was even worse was that he was dragging Elliot through it with him. "Are you being serious?" I say with a chuckle, in disbelief.

"Why the hell wouldn't I be? Kimmy is _my_ girlfriend now, and if you so much as lay a finger on her then you're dead." He growls at me. In reality we both know that I'd win in a fight between me and Alex, but it didn't seem to stop him from trying to be intimidating.

"Alex, what has gotten into you? You know just as well as I do that I want nothing to do with any of those girls. What's happened?" I'm getting more and more frustrated.

"What happened? You inspired me Austin, with your determination to show people the 'real you'. So I did too. I joined the football team. I became popular. Look Austin – this is who I really am! And it's much better."

"No, Alex, it's not better at all. It's just you being a jerk. And what's worse is that you're dragging Elliot through it with you. Look at him!" I point to Elliot who looks embarrassed and a little scared. "Do you really think he wants this?"

"I am helping Elliot grow into a proper man. I am making his life better. We all know that Elliot has never had a girlfriend – do you know how many of those cheerleaders want him now? Well, you should understand, you are the male slut of the school after all." That's a low blow and we all know it.

"Now you just listen here." I say, grabbing Alex and holding him against the locker. "You are _not_ helping anybody right now. All you're doing is turning people against you. If you want to be some dumb, ignorant jock who is hated by everyone, then go ahead, but don't force a nice guy to do it with you and don't you dare try and make yourself look like you're a better person than you are, because we all know the reality is that you're just a colossal jerk who wants attention."

"You're wrong there, Austin." He says as I loosen my grip on him and we turn so we're back facing each other as we were before. "I'm far from hated by everyone. I'm finally one of the most popular guys in school, a position you've just taken for granted for all these years. Now I'm popular, and I'm never going back, and thanks to me Elliot's popular too."

"Don't you get it? That's not true popularity! Being popular isn't about how much of a jerk you are, or your position on the football team, or which cheerleader you're dating. It's about your friends – your _true_ friends – and being liked for who you are. And I can assure you that absolutely _nobody_ likes you for who you really are."

"And once again you're wrong. I have a girlfriend who likes me for who I am. Who, once again, you need to keep away from." He's really trying hard to be intimidating, but I just find it pathetic.

"Does she? Does she really? I think you'll be surprised. But anyway, I don't care. I do not care anymore. I for one don't like you for who you are. So you can keep your slutty girlfriend, who by the way said she'd drop you for me any day, and you can just stay the hell away from me and go be a jerk by yourself."

At this he finally loses it. He tries to throw a punch at me, but I just catch his fist in my hand and twist his wrist until he's wincing in pain. I let go and he falls backwards a few steps. "Don't even bother." I say menacingly before turning around and walking away in the direction of the cafeteria. And my friends. My _true_ friends.

. . . . .

 **Ten chapters done!**

 **Alex has uncovered his true self to the world, and Austin does not like it at all. Will Alex take Austin's advice and stay away, or is the drama between these two only beginning? On a happier note, Austin and Ally are getting along great! Will Austin work up the guts to tell Ally his feelings towards her?**

 **Also, time for you guys to get a say in the story – do you guys want Trez? Let me know in a review, and if I get enough responses then I'll write it in!**

 **The link is to a YouTube video of the song... copy and paste the link into Google and it will be the top result! I really recommend listening to the music - you may end up finding a song you really love that you'd never even heard of before reading this fanfiction ;)**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite, review, and leave suggestions and questions! It means a lot to me!**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story!**

 **IMPORTANT: As you may or may not have seen, I have started another new story (you should totally check it out), so from now on chapters of this story will only be uploaded once a week on Mondays to give me more time to write chapters for that story too... I hope you guys don't mind and continue to support this story! :)**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Eleven: Obsessions and Threats**

 _Ally's POV_

Austin said as we left Chemistry that he was just going to his locker, but he's been gone for over ten minutes, and Dez and I are sat on our own at a table because Trish is with the girls again this lunch.

Whilst I'm waiting for Austin I decide to write an entry in my songbook.

 _Dear songbook/diary,_

 _It's Friday today, so the first week of junior year is finally coming to an end, even though so much has happened in this short space of time!_

 _Austin's my friend now. He's proven himself to be a really sweet, caring (not to mention incredibly good-looking) guy and I'm really happy we're friends now. We had to write a song for music class, and his performance was what won me over. It was magical._

 _I don't know how I really feel about him though. I mean I definitely like him, but I don't know if it's as a friend or potentially as something more… for example, last night we were writing a song together in the practice room in Sonic Boom, and for those few hours I felt like he would be amazing as my boyfriend, and then I kissed him on the cheek without even thinking about it. But at the same time, Austin can do so much better than me, and he has to know that. Pretty much every girl in school practically drools over him 24/7._

 _Also, Brooke is not happy about my friendship with Austin. Whenever I see her she always sends me the dirtiest looks imaginable. I get that she's pretty much obsessed with him but she doesn't need to take it out one me for being friends with him!_

 _Oh, he's finally turned up at lunch so I gotta go. Write later!_

 _Love, Ally x_

"Hey!" I say with a smile looking up at Austin as he sits down next to me.

"Hi." He replies with a small smile, but something's definitely off about him.

"What took you so long?" I joke, but he looks mad and sad. "What's up? Is everything okay?" I place a hand on his shoulder and I can feel his whole body is really tense.

"Guess who turned up at my locker telling me to 'stay away from his girl'." He said in an irritated voice.

"He didn't!" Said Dez in a low voice, looking mad too. "Please tell me he didn't!" Austin just nodded his head. "That jerk!" Dez suddenly exploded. "I can't believe him!" He continued, and started rambling incoherently about how much he hated Alex, or something along those lines.

I noticed Austin still looked really mad and stressed. I knew that he may blow up at me, but I knew he needed someone to try and help him calm down.

"Are you okay, Austin?" I ask gently, looking from the side into his eyes. Those eyes which are usually so mesmerising and vibrant, but that are now just dark and clouded.

"Do I _look_ like I'm okay?" He snapped back harshly. It hurt a little but I knew that he was just angry and trying to get it out of his system.

"Austin, calm down." I say gently and he closes his eyes tightly. "You know that you're a bigger man than Alex, and that whatever he says about you is nothing compared to what should be said about him, right?" I say. He nods tensely. "And that no matter, we know the truth about you and you've always got me, okay?"

He lets out a small smile at the part about always having me, which is a relief.

Austin and Dez calm down after a couple of minutes and we agree to not think about it and talk about something else, which we do happily for the rest of lunch break.

The next three periods pass by and it's time for music. Austin's in a much better mood now, which is good because I know how much Austin loves music and music class and I don't want him to be miserable through it.

The lesson itself is uneventful. Miss Kennedy told us we would be working together on a song – it was Austin and me as one group and the other three as the other group, and that worked just fine for me! She then said that all we had to do was write a song together and perform it at the end of the lesson.

Me and Austin just used 'Popular', the song we wrote last night and Austin performed it at the end of class – needless to say everyone loved it and we got an awesome grade for it.

Next thing I knew, the bell rang and it was the weekend…

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

I walked out of school with Ally. She didn't have to wait for Trish today so we just left straight away. It was officially the start of the weekend, and it was a gorgeous day out, which I intended to take full advantage of.

"So, Als, you wanna do something fun this evening?" I ask as we walk in the sun.

"Sorry, Austin, I have to work at Sonic Boom." She says back, disappointed.

"No worries, can I stop by the store later and visit you?" I ask.

"Of course!" She says with a giggle. "It's a lot more bearable when I have a friend there to talk to, even if they can only stay for a couple of minutes. Usually Trish stops by, but she can never stay long."

I nod and we keep walking. When we have to go our separate ways I give her a hug before walking down my road.

I get my homework done straight away, and I do it out in my garden in the sun with my headphones in. I'm done in record time, and it's a great feeling knowing that I've done my homework so the rest of my weekend is completely clear to do whatever I want to.

It's about five o'clock, and I decide to head to Sonic Boom for about seven. I pick up all my work stuff and walk back inside and take it up to my room, before going back downstairs to get a drink. As I walk into the kitchen I hear the front door open. "Austin, I'm home!" My dad called out through the house.

He was always home earlier on Fridays, as he didn't go to the store and instead went to his part-time job working at a bar. "In the kitchen, dad." I call back and he walks through.

"How was your day at school?" He asks as he walks to the fridge.

"It was okay, I guess." I reply. I decide not to tell him about Alex, or Ally for that matter. I doubt he really cares that much anyway, he just wants me to go to business school. "How was work?"

"Ugh, boring, I hate working at that bar." He moans. "Plus today I had this guy come in around lunch time and he got absolutely wasted." He says, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Oh really?" I say. "Do you know him?" I might be able to at least get a bit of gossip out of this.

"No, not really. I think he owns some store in the mall, though, which makes it even worse. He said he was just on his lunch break, but he was there for a good couple of hours, just having beer after beer after beer. We had to stop serving him eventually, we were worried he'd be completely gone if he took another sip."

"Wow, that's awful." I say. "I hope he didn't go back to work after that."

"Oh, but he did." My dad continues. "He kept saying 'I sober up really quickly, I'll be fine' whenever he ordered another drink. He was quite determined. I just feel bad for his customers who'd have had to be served by him after that."

"Yeah…" I agree. Part of me is slightly wondering if my parents have ever done something like that before going back to work… no, I doubt it. They're too 'professional' to do that. I think.

I spend an hour or so watching some crap show on TV that I have no interest in, before going upstairs to get ready to go out to Sonic Boom.

I fixed my hair into its perfectly messy state and sprayed some more cologne on, before grabbing my phone, keys and sunglasses and heading out the door. It's still a really nice day out, so I decide to walk to the mall for a change instead of driving.

I plug in my headphones again as I start to walk, and for a couple of minutes my walk is perfect. The sun is shining, it's warm but not unbearable, there's a cool breeze and the music is perfect.

All this is interrupted, however, when I walk past the park. Initially it's fine, there is the gentle sound of children squealing with joy and excitement as they play on the playground, but then who should come running up the path of the park to be next to me on the sidewalk but Brooke. _Brooke_. The girl who is seriously obsessed with me and has no shame in it.

"Oh hey, Austin, funny running into you here." She says before giggling in a way that is similar to Kimmy.

"Yeah, sure, whatever." I say dismissively as I slightly increase my walking speed, but of course she just speeds up too to keep up with me.

For a couple of minutes Brooke is silent, and I actually begin to relax again a little, but that is soon ruined when she reaches over and pulls out my headphones sharply before beginning to speak. So much for a relaxing walk.

"So, Austin, how about our date this weekend?" She says, batting her eyelashes and smiling, which just puts me off her more.

"We don't _have_ a date this weekend, Brooke. Never have, never will." I reply, hoping against all hope that she'll just drop it. Oh who am I kidding? She'll _never_ drop the subject, that's the one thing in life I'm pretty certain about.

She giggles again and I cringe. "Oh, Austin, you're soooo funny!" She says before giggling again. "That's why we're so _perfect_ for each other." She says. I feel like vomiting.

I don't even bother to respond – I know that nothing I say will help, she's dead certain that we are soulmates or whatever and nothing's gonna stop that so why bother.

"So anyway, _do_ you have any plans this weekend?" She asks.

"Yes." I just say bluntly in an attempt to shut the conversation down. That's a complete lie, I have absolutely no plans whatsoever this weekend, I was just hoping to spend it hanging out with Ally, but Brooke doesn't need to know that.

"Oh cool, you're always so active." She says. "What are you going to be doing? Anything exciting? Well, of course it will be, everything you do is exciting!"

"Just stuff, Brooke, you really don't need to know." I think the annoyance is starting to come through in my voice, and I honestly kind of hope it is so that she can pick up on it and realise that I just want her to leave me alone. Why is it so difficult for her to understand!?

"Ooh, mysterious, I like it!" Oh my God. I am about to lose it.

"Of course you do."

She giggles again, and she has the most annoying giggle I've ever heard. It's annoying and squeaky, like Kimmy's, whereas Ally's giggle is soft, gentle and just really cute. See, even Ally's giggle is perfect, and Brooke's is definitely far from it.

"So Austin, I never asked, where exactly are you going now?" It's true, she never did ask that, she just followed me like the stalker she is.

"The mall." Is all I say in response.

"Aww, how sweet, you're taking me shopping for our first date! That's so cute." She says and I am so close to just punching her in the face. But obviously I'd never do that… ever. No matter how incredibly tempting it is.

"Brooke for God's sake get it into your head! This is not a date and I will _never_ go on a date with you, I'm just trying to go to the mall on my own so give it a rest!" I finally lose it and shout this at her. I don't care if it's mean anymore, I'm just completely fed up of her and her giggling.

"Ooh, feisty, that's so sexy Austy!" AAAAARGH!

"You're unbelievable." I mutter under my breath and start walking as fast as I can, but somehow she manages to keep up.

"So if you're not taking me on our date, why are you going to the mall?" She asks.

"It's none of your business," I reply. "but I'm going to see Ally."

Her eyes widen slightly and I can see her get a little annoyed just at the mention of Ally's name. "You've been spending quite a lot of time with Ally recently, huh?" She says through gritted teeth as we continue to walk.

"Yes. Yes I have. I really like her." I say, realising that this is a way to get her wound up and fed up and therefore get rid of her.

"Why? She's a dork, and she's not even that pretty." I hear her remark snidely.

"I don't think she's either of those things. To me, Ally Dawson is the kindest, sweetest, smartest, but above all most beautiful girl I know." I say confidently.

"Well, apart from me obviously." Brooke adds and I feel like laughing in her face but I know for some weird reason that will just encourage her.

"Wait, Brooke, where the hell are _you_ going? You were just in the park until you started following me." I say.

"Oh I'll just come with you and say hi to Ally. We're like sisters." She lies really badly.

"Really? But you just said 'she's a dork and she's not even that pretty', yet she's 'like your sister'?"

"Yeah, she's the dorky, ugly sister but we're still real close." I pretend to go along with this even though it's so obviously not true. "So you're, no, _we're_ meeting Ally in the mall?"

"No, Brooke, _I_ am going to see Ally at work, and _you_ are being an obsessive, creepy stalker and following me and I'm hoping that you'll just leave me and her alone." I deadpan.

She throws her head back and laughs obnoxiously. "Oh, Austin, you're _so_ funny. Have I told you that before?"

"Only about a million times."

She laughs again. "There it is again! That sense of humour that I love about you so much." I just shake my head. I feel kinda sorry for her in a way. But only the tiniest bit, and it's completely gone again within half a second. "So Ally works at the mall?"

"Again, this really isn't your business, but if you must know she works at her dad's music store, Sonic Boom." For a split second I can see a hint of a mischievous, slightly evil glint in her eye, but it's gone again before I can properly tell what it is.

"Ally plays music?" Brooke says in a disgusted voice. "That's so lame."

"I love playing music too."

"Oh that's so cool! I love music, anyone who can play is amazing in my eyes." This is incredible.

Mercifully we've reached the mall at this point and I practically sprint to Sonic Boom, unable to handle another second alone with Brooke.

"Hey, Ally." I say as I burst through the doors.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

I say goodbye to Austin before continuing my walk to the mall. The whole Alex situation has really gotten to him more than he lets on, I think, but he seems to be blocking it all out of his mind for now, which is good.

I hated seeing him so distressed and angry earlier, I wanted nothing more than to just give him a big hug and stay like that forever, but obviously that would be a little weird in the middle of the school cafeteria at lunch.

I get to the mall about half an hour earlier than I usually do, and I don't feel like going in to Sonic Boom just yet, plus it's a beautiful day, so I sit on one of the benches in the sun for a bit.

When half an hour has passed I reluctantly stand up and walk across to the store.

There aren't any customers in the shop when I walk in, just my dad stood facing away from me behind the counter.

"Hey dad." I say like I always do and he turns to face me.

"Hi honey." He says, his voice not completely clear.

I walk over and hug him, again like a normally do, but this time I can smell the alcohol coming off him from about a foot away. I also notice him swaying a little, barely noticeable but still happening. "Uh… Dad, have you been drinking?" I ask nervously.

"I just had a glass or two at lunch time, not much." He says, slurring slightly on some words. This is not good.

"O-okay, why don't you just go home now and take a nap, okay? I can take over the store straight away." I say.

"If you're sure, dear, but I think I'm okay." This sentence is shorter but he slurs it more.

"No, dad, you need to go home." I say. "Did you drive here?" I ask and he nods. "Okay well you're certainly not driving home, I'll call mom to come and drive you home." I say pulling out my phone. He begins to protest but I just tell him not to.

About 20 minutes later my mom arrives and leads him away to his car to drive him home, and I breathe a sigh of relief… but I'm not really relieved at all, why was he drinking?

Within ten or so minutes the store starts to get busier again, and it's like that until about 6:50, when it begins to quieten down.

I'm hoping for Austin to walk through the door, I really need to relax a little right now and he always seems to manage to make me do that.

I decide that whilst it's quiet I might as well try and do some of my homework, since I had to take over the store straight away and didn't get a chance to do it then.

About ten minutes into my English essay I hear the best sound I've heard all day: "Hey, Ally."

I smile instantly and look up, but that smile soon disappears when I see Brooke walking in behind him. I shoot him a look asking what the hell Brooke is doing here and he mouths 'sorry' and gives me a look that I know means he'll explain later.

"Hi Austin." I reply. "Hi Brooke." I say a little quieter.

"Hello Ally!" Brooke says in a fake cheery voice. Everyone in the room knows she's not really happy to see me at all.

Austin walks over to me at the counter whilst Brooke walks around the store looking at everything. "Why is Brooke here?" I ask Austin in a loud whisper, annoyed.

"I'm sorry, Ally, I really don't want her here either. I was walking here and when I went past the park she suddenly appeared at my side and followed me here." He replies in the same whispered voice.

I'm annoyed and stressed and really just need a hug from Austin right now, but I know that with Brooke in the store that probably wouldn't be a good idea.

"Austin, what's this thing?" Brooke calls out, pointing to a violin. Wow, she really is thick.

"It's a violin, Brooke." Austin replies. She looks at him blankly. "It's an instrument." At this she smiles and nods, before continuing to walk around the store. "Hey, I'll be right back, just gotta run to the restroom, okay?" Austin says with a smile before walking out of the store.

Not a second after the door's closed, Brooke turns to me with a scowl on her face.

"Okay listen here, _Dawson_." She says with disgust, as if even saying my last name insults her. "I don't know what the hell you think you're doing, but back off Austin!"

"Brooke, what are you talking about? Austin's just my friend." I try to defend myself.

"Yes but it's so _obvious_ that you're obsessed with him but that he has absolutely no interest in you! It's completely embarrassing even to watch!" She shrieks. Is she having a laugh? Has she seen the way she acts with Austin? I decide not to say this though.

"Look, Brooke, I have no interest in being with Austin that way."

"Well you had better not! Austin's _mine_ , and I am not going to let _anything_ , especially a pathetic little slut like you get in the way of it, you get that?" She hisses. "I said, you _get_ that?" I just nod sarcastically. I'm not sacred of her at all. "Besides, be real Ally. I've told you this before, but you don't seem to get it, Austin would _never_ like you like that. I mean please, he has taste!"

She is getting dangerously close to crossing the line, here.

"I mean look at you!" She continues. "You're a short, ugly, rat-haired dork and he's like a freaking _God_! He can have any girl in the school, and if there's one thing I know is that he's a lot more likely to choose a hot girl like me, or one of the cheerleaders, than a pathetic, miserable nobody who has worse dress sense than a homeless person and has deluded dreams of music when all you're ever gonna be is a sad loser that nobody likes!" She says, stepping closer to me with every word.

I lose it at this point. She's close enough for me to land a sharp, painful slap across her stupid face. I've never done anything like this before, and I instantly feel horrible for doing it.

She smirks evilly at me after a minute or so of silence as we both comprehend what just happened. "You're gonna regret that, Dawson, I'm gonna make sure of it! This is your last warning, stay _away_ from _my_ Austin!"

"JUST GET THE HELL OUT OF MY STORE!" I yell, having completely had enough. I don't think either of us were expecting that, though, as we both take a few steps back in shock.

"Actually it's your dad's store." Brooke says with a smirk. "I know these things." She says, slowly backing away towards the door.

"How do yo…" At that moment Austin walks back in.

"Austy!" Brooke says enthusiastically, wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "I have to go now, but thanks for a great date babe, I'll call you!" She says. And then she does it.

She turns and looks me straight in the eye, smirking. Then…

She kisses him.

. . . . .

 **There you go, guys, chapter 11. I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Brooke is becoming an increasingly larger problem for both Austin and Ally, how will they deal with her and her threats? And what did she mean "you're gonna regret that, I'm gonna make sure of it"?**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite, review, and leave suggestions and questions! It means a lot to me!**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story!**

 **Just a little mini-warning, these next few chapters are a little more serious and some of the themes within may not be suitable for all readers. They are definitely more T rated chapters because of this.**

 **Things get** _ **bad**_ **for Ally in this chapter… read on and find out more!**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Twelve: Please Stop**

 _Ally's POV_

She kisses him.

Properly kisses him, right there in front of me.

And he doesn't try and stop her.

My heart breaks into a million pieces.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

What the hell is going on? One minute I'm walking into Sonic Boom, and the next thing I know Brooke's lips are on mine and I'm too shocked to do anything about it.

After about five seconds it suddenly hits me what's happening and I pry Brooke off me and yell at her to get out and stay away from me and Ally. She complies, but not without sending me an evil smirk and a wink first.

I turn to where Ally was standing to see her running up the stairs towards the practice room, head down and hand to her face. I can tell she's crying.

I sprint up the stairs after her, calling for her to stop but she just runs faster, and just as I'm about to get to her the door of the practice room slams shut in my face and I hear the click of the lock on the door.

She's locked herself in the practice room.

"Ally!" I yell banging on the door. "Ally, let me in!" I can hear muffled crying coming from inside, and I bang my fist against the door harder. I need to talk to her. "Ally, please, let me in!"

"Austin just leave me alone! Go be with Brooke, you two are _perfect_ for each other!" She yells back in a choked voice.

"Are you kidding me Ally? You _know_ I want nothing to do with her, she just grabbed me and kissed me!"

"Well what was all that about 'thanks for a great date' and 'call me' then? And it looked like you enjoyed that kiss more than a little, too!"

I can't believe this is happening. "She's sick in the head! She's crazy! She's genuinely psychopathic and you know that just as well as I do Ally, and you also know that I did _not_ enjoy that kiss, I was in shock! You heard me shouting at her, didn't you?"

There was no reply.

"Ally, listen to me, I do _not_ like Brooke, in fact I hate her guts, and I need you to believe me. You're the first girl to ever see the real me and like me for it, I can't lose that. Please. I need you."

"Well you should have thought of that before you locked lips with the girl who wants me dead."

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

I am curled up in a ball in the corner of the practice room as far away from the door as possible, feeling like a complete idiot, crying. But I wasn't crying because of what has just happened. It was everything.

Everything I've felt over the last years just all built up into a torrent of emotion that I didn't realise was even inside me, and then Brooke came along and single-handedly tipped it over the edge and I just couldn't take it.

"Ally please just listen to me!" Austin is shouting and repeatedly banging on the practice room door, and it's scaring me, just adding to the overwhelming emotions I'm finding myself drowned in.

"Leave me alone, Austin, would you please just leave me be!" I really need to be alone and Austin is just suffocating me.

"No, Ally, not when you're like this. You need someone to be here for you." He tries to reason with me but it isn't going to work.

"For God's sake Austin can't you see, ever since we started talking everything's been different, and mostly not for the better, so please, for now at least, just _get out of my life!_ "

Okay I think I went a little too far with that one… but it's the only way I'm going to get through to him that I don't want him around me right now.

There is a few seconds of silence, and that silence is the most painful part of this whole situation.

"Fine, Ally. If that's how you want it." I hear Austin say with venom in his voice. There is one last, much louder, bang on the door before I hear him stomping his way down the steps and out of the store… and out of my life.

Finally alone, I curl into an even tighter ball and cry for what feels like hours over the massive mistake I've just made.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

" _Just get out of my life."_ Ally's words keep playing in my head on a continuous loop and there is absolutely no way for me to get them out.

" _Just get out of my life."_ I run home in a fury, ignoring anyone and everyone who calls out to me and tries to stop me.

" _Just get out of my life."_ I burst through the front door and race up the stairs to my room, slamming the door shut and locking it.

" _Just get out of my life."_ I throw myself onto my bed and scream out into my pillow smashing my hands and legs violently against the sheets as I try to let out my anger.

" _Just get out of my life."_ The songs I've been working on for days, scattered all over my desk, inspired by Ally – I rip them all to pieces and throw them in the trash can.

" _Just get out of my life."_ I sink to the floor by my bed and rest my head in my hands. And I regret everything I've done since Brooke tried to follow me to the store.

I regret it all so much.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

I finally stop crying, and check my phone. 11:30. I put on the selfie-cam on the phone and I look a complete and utter mess. But I don't care. It reflects how I feel on the inside.

I stand up, and my legs go all shaky instantly. I feel weak. I feel pathetic.

I stagger my way out and down the stairs, grabbing my school bag as I go. I lock up the store and leave the mall.

The night air is cold and bitter, nipping away at me. Gone is the heat and sunshine of the day, replaced by the unwelcoming, punishing wind howling its way through the streets. It makes me feel even more alone, even more vulnerable.

I find myself beginning to freak out as I realise everything that's happening.

I'm a teenage girl, on my own walking through the shady district of Miami on a cold night, alone and vulnerable. _'Everything's okay,'_ I tell myself as I walk. _'You've done this hundreds of times before.'_

But telling myself these things does nothing, and I still feel scared and alone. I need Austin. I can feel myself beginning to have a panic attack, but push myself to walk quicker and just get home, to safety and warmth and love.

But that's not what I find when I get there.

The downstairs lights are on as I approach the house. I walk up the driveway and unlock the front door, enjoying the feeling of the warmth as I walk through and into the familiarity of my home. But my feeling of enjoyment is short-lived.

"Allyson Dawson!" My dad's slurred voice booms through the house. Uh-oh. "Where the hell have you been? Do you have any idea what time it is?" He asks as he staggers over to me, towering above me menacingly.

"Sorry, Dad, I was just at the store and came straight home, I promise!" I say meekly.

"Then why are you home so late? You know what time the store closes, so where have you been?"

"Dad stop yelling!" I shout back, worried about him disturbing the neighbours and getting a noise complaint or something like that.

"Don't you dare tell me what to do you little bitch!" He yells back.

And then he does something I never would have thought he ever would do. He hit me. Hard.

I fell back against the door and slid to the ground, winded and shocked. "Well!?" He continues to yell, leaning down and getting right in my face. The smell of alcohol makes me feel like throwing up. "Where have you been Allyson?"

"Dad, I promise, I was j-just a-at the s-store." I say, feeling the tears pricking the back of my eyes and slowly start to roll down my cheeks. This is the worst night of my life.

"Don't cry!" My dad shouts, before slapping me hard across the cheek. "Crying is for the weak!" He adds, before grabbing me by the wrist and yanking me up onto my feet, only to throw me across into the wall opposite, and I again sink to the floor and continue to cry.

"I-I'm s-sorry!" I manage to get out in between sobs.

"I said don't cry!" He shouts, before kicking me in the stomach, completely knocking the wind out of me and leaving me gasping violently for breath. "Now you have ten minutes. Clean the kitchen and then go up to bed. Go!" He yells before storming through to the living room.

I don't move for a couple of minutes, as I'm physically unable to and I can't get up. "That kitchen had better be spotless, Allyson!" I hear my dad shout.

Genuinely afraid for my life, I slowly stand up, and make it about three steps before my legs give way and I fall to the ground again. But I know I need to get up, so I force myself to ignore the pain and stagger into the kitchen.

The place is a mess. There are beer cans and bottles everywhere, dirty plates and cups and cutlery scattered along the counters, and all the chairs are on their sides scattered throughout the room.

I feel so weak, by the time I've managed to pick up the chairs and move them back into place I know I only have a couple of minutes left. I grab a few of the cans and put them into the trash can, and I just as I think I'm starting to make process I hear my dad's footsteps walking towards the kitchen.

"Ally!" He yells when he walks in and sees barely any difference. "I told you to clean this room!"

"I know dad, I tried, I'm sorry, I moved the chairs back a…"

"Shut up!" Another slap. "I don't care about your excuses, I told you to make sure this room was clean and you've failed!" Another punch in my already aching stomach.

"Dad, please, stop!" I whimper but hold back the tears remembering what happened last time.

"I am fed up of your attitude, Allyson!" He shouts. Another slap. I can't even feel my face anymore. "From now on things are going to be different around here." Slap. "Starting with you learning to obey my orders. Now learn!" He says, before I see him reach for an empty beer bottle, raise it, and swing straight at my face. There's a second of pain, and then darkness.

I wake up with the sun streaming into the room and dancing lightly along the walls. I think back to the events of the night before… maybe it was just a dream. Yeah, that's it, it must have all just been a bad dream.

But those aren't the walls of my bedroom…

And this cold, hard surface isn't my bed…

I'm in the kitchen. Surrounded by shattered glass and with pain… everywhere. It wasn't a dream. It's reality. It's a living nightmare.

I try to get up but I just don't have the strength. Every time I move a limb, even the tiniest bit, sends pain shooting all around my body. I eventually find the strength to just sit up and look around, though even that takes a lot out of me.

Tears flood my eyes as I look around the room and see the floor covered in shards of glass, beer bottles and blood. My blood.

I know my dad will want the kitchen clean by the time he wakes up, so I force myself upright and lean against the table for a minute or so to gather my composure.

I stumble over to the cupboard and get out the dustpan and brush, and start sweeping up the glass. Each shard to me represents a good memory I have, that is being swept away and leaving and empty space that is soon to be filled with nothing but pain.

After around 20 minutes most of the glass is gone. I pick up the rest of the empty beer cans and bottles and throw them in the trash can too, but trying to be quiet for fear of waking my dad. He was drunk last night when it all happened, so maybe he wouldn't be the same sober, maybe he'd be back to his normal self… but I honest really didn't want to find out.

I grab the mop and start to clean up the blood which is slowly drying, wondering what I ever did wrong to deserve my life to have gone downhill so badly so suddenly. This time yesterday my life was great, and now hear I am cleaning up my own blood from my own kitchen floor.

When the floor is clean, I put away the mop and dustpan and look at the table and counters, which are covered in all the dirty plates and things that were there last night. I sigh heavily and turn on the tap, filling the sink with warm, soapy water. It would be this week that the dishwasher broke, typically.

I slowly work my way through everything that needs to be washed, and within an hour I'm done. The kitchen is now pretty much completely clean, but I know it won't make my dad happy anyway.

I sigh again and start to walk out of the kitchen, but I slip on the recently mopped floor and next thing I know my face is making a heavy connection with the hard, cold tile floor. I can't find it in me to pick myself up, and just feel myself start to cry.

I'm crying for whatever it is I did to deserve this, I'm crying for how much I need Austin right now, and I'm crying for how bad the pain in my heart is as well as the pain on my body.

I've been crying for about five minutes when I hear footsteps coming down the stairs. I remember what my dad did to me last night when I cried, so instantly stop myself and wipe away the tears before standing up just as my dad reaches the bottom of the stairs and turns the corner and sees me.

"Good morning dad," I say sweetly as he enters the kitchen. "I cleaned the kitchen."

He looks at me coldly. "You think that's enough?" He says sharply. "You think that just because you've cleaned one room that I asked you to clean hours ago, that everything is instantly okay?"

"No, but I…"

"No, exactly! It does _not_!" You still deserve everything" Slap. "you get!" Another slap. "Now get out of my sight and go clean yourself up, you look disgusting." He spits.

I scurry away from him and up the stairs, desperate to get away from the man who's supposed to protect me in life but is doing anything but that.

I run into my room and slam the door. "Allyson!" I hear my dad yell from downstairs. "Do not slam your door!" I collapse onto my bed and cry again. I can't take this. I don't know what I've done wrong.

I quickly grab some clothes from my closet and go into the bathroom. I turn on the shower and step in, but the water is not at all comforting as it runs over the new bruises developing on my back, stomach and legs. I quickly clean myself and get out and get dressed, worried that my dad will hit me again if I spend too long in the bathroom.

I throw my old clothes into the washing and slowly make my way downstairs, hungry and in search of breakfast.

I can see him sat on the couch watching the TV, a beer bottle (already half empty) in his hand. I check the time – 9 a.m. I feel too scared to even walk past him to get food, and decide I'd rather starve.

At this point I realise that I have absolutely no idea where my mom is. I didn't see her last night when I got home and I haven't seen her this morning.

I creep back up the stairs and walk over to my parents' bedroom. I slowly open the door and peek inside, but don't see anyone. "Mom?" I say quietly as I take a few cautious steps into the room. She's definitely not in here, although the room itself is very clean and the bed is made perfectly. I doubt my dad would have done that.

I walk over to the window on the other side of the room, and see her car is still in the driveway so she hasn't driven anywhere, and it's Saturday so she doesn't have work…

"What are you doing in here?" My father's booming voice shatters my thoughts like the beer glass he shattered across my face last night.

"I-I-I was just…" I don't get to finish before there is another stinging sensation on my cheek as I receive another hard slap.

"You were just what, Allyson, what?" He asks, slapping each side of my face alternately, each slap harder and with more feeling than the last. "You were just digging around in my private space, snooping around where you're not needed or wanted, huh?" A kick in the shin.

"No, dad, I was…"

"Silence!" He yells, grabbing me and throwing me against the wall. I start to fall down, but before I can hit the ground he grabs me and throws me against the wall again, except this time with a lot more power. I literally bounce of the wall and fly backwards a couple of feet before falling, hitting my head off the metal post of my parents' bed on the way down. But I'm still conscious.

A kick in the stomach whilst I'm down, accompanied by several stomps on my arms, before I'm picked up and slapped once more with all the energy he had left in him. My ears are left ringing and I can no longer hear a word he is shouting, just this horrific, tortuous high-pitched sound that threatens to drive me insane, if I'm not already.

I can tell he is waiting for me to answer him, but I can't – I have no clue what he's been saying. He starts to shake me, still waiting for me to say _something_ , and all I can manage is a feeble "I… I…" before I'm sent flying out of the room into the wall opposite.

I don't even bother trying to shield myself or tell him to stop, and instead just take the brutal beating that I know I'm about to receive as I see him marching towards me, a deep fire burning in his eyes that I fear can never be extinguished, despite how suddenly and quickly it ignited.

The next twenty minutes consists of mental and emotional pain from a torrent of shouting, cursing, and threats accompanied by the physical pain from slaps, kicks, punches, scratches and being thrown against things.

And the entire time this is happening, the only thing on my mind isn't even a thing. It's a person… Austin. I need him. I need him so badly right now.

The abuse is finally over. For now, at least.

The air is rich with the smell of blood, which has seeped its way out of my body and into the once-white carpet, mixed with the choking fumes of smoke from the cigarette my dad lit during the beating, the ashes of which were repeatedly flicked off onto my arms, burning my skin, until he finally put it out… on my shoulder.

He was smart enough to hurt me only in places where he knew the bruises, scars and burns could be covered, and he did it just enough so that he knew the injuries would somewhat heal before I had to go back into school, as it was only the start of the weekend.

The worst weekend of my life.

. . . . .

 **As I warned at the start of this chapter, this one and the next chapter or two are much more serious. The topic of domestic and child abuse is horrific, and it is really not something I enjoy writing about at all, but it is a serious issue that can't be ignored.**

 **I am sorry if this chapter in any way upset you, but this is something that I felt should be included in the story and I hope you guys can understand why.**

 **So Ally's home life has drastically changed, and all her friends are clueless. Will she find it in herself to tell anyone and get help?**

 **Also I know this chapter is almost entirely written in Ally's POV, sorry if you didn't like that but I tried to write some in Austin's, however it didn't feel right and I wasn't happy enough with it so I decided to stick to Ally. There should be some more from Austin in the next chapter.**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite, review, and leave suggestions and questions! It means a lot to me!**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story!**

 **We're into the teens! This chapter is serious, like the last one, but I hope you guys still enjoy it.**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Thirteen: Week of Pain**

 _Austin's POV_

It's Sunday evening, which means I have school tomorrow. And going to school means I have to see Ally, and honestly I don't know if I'm up to that.

I haven't spoken to her all weekend. She has sent me a couple of text messages and tried to call me once or twice, but I've ignored them all. She told me to get out of her life, and that's what I'm doing. I'll probably talk to her tomorrow, but not until then.

I nearly did today. I was walking through the mall, having been shopping to get some stuff my mom needed, and I realised I was walking in the direction of Sonic Boom. I made up my mind that I would go in and try to talk to her.

But when I got there the store was closed. I guess it must not open on Sundays… but when I looked at the sign on the door it said that it should normally be open between 11 and 5… it was only 1:30. That was weird, but I brushed it off and continued my walk.

I talked to Dez about everything later. He came round and we had a movie marathon, which we haven't done for a while. Whilst we were watching some soppy romance that Dez insisted on, he turned to me and asked how everything was going with Ally.

I think the glare I gave him told him quite a lot, which was reinforced by my harsh tone when I said "Don't even ask me about her."

He looked shocked for a second, before innocently asking "What happened?"

I didn't want to, but I decided it was probably best if I did talk to him about it. So I told him everything that happened on Friday night.

Dez said he thought I was being really stupid about it and that I should just call her or go and talk to her about it and get it all sorted out. I want to, but I don't want to just call her because we need to talk about it face to face. And I wouldn't feel right just turning up at her house uninvited. That's why I'm going to wait until school tomorrow.

This is all Brooke's fault. If only she hadn't gone and kissed me then maybe everything would still be completely fine between me and Ally. Stupid Brooke and her obsession.

But then I think again, and maybe it's my fault. I mean, I kind of allowed Brooke to come with me to Sonic Boom. I tried several times to get her to go, but she was persistent. Maybe I shouldn't have gone to Sonic Boom at all whilst Brooke was with me, I should have told her I was going somewhere else.

I don't really know, the whole situation is a little complicated. But it's also completely ridiculous and I'm annoyed I've allowed myself to fall out with Ally, who is probably one of the best things to ever happen to me, over _this_.

I just hope she feels the same about the situation.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

Punches.

Kicks.

Slaps.

Pain.

Bruises.

Scars.

Torture.

Those seven words pretty much summarise my weekend stuck at home with my dad. I haven't been able to leave the house. I tried to this morning, quietly, but he caught me and… well, I'm pretty sure you can guess the rest by now.

He hasn't left the house either, though; he's been like my prison guard. He's forced me to clean the house from top to bottom several times over, and if he's not happy with how long it takes or how it looks at the end, I get another beating.

But that must mean no one's been working at Sonic Boom, so the store will have been closed all weekend. I'm afraid people will start to get curious or worried and come round looking for one of us. I'm worried how my dad would react.

I've seen my mom once this weekend, but she wasn't in much of a better state than me. I think my dad's been abusing her too, and I haven't heard her leave the house either. I think she's been locked in my parents' en-suite bathroom. She probably locked herself in there for safety from my dad. Smart move.

But there's nowhere for me to hide. He watches my like a hawk, I'm lucky if I get an hour's total of time alone without fear of being slapped any second.

He's currently passed out on the couch downstairs, so I decide to take this opportunity to hide in my room and write in my songbook.

 _Dear songbook/diary,_

 _My life has gone completely horribly wrong. On Friday morning my life was great, and I was in a good mood for the whole day. But then, after school, I was working at Sonic Boom as usual when Austin walked in. Normally this would be great and I would be so happy to see him, and that was how it was at first. But then it turned out Brooke was with him._

 _Austin left the store for about 10 minutes. Brooke used those 10 minutes to intimidate me. She told me to "stay away from her Austin". Her Austin? Where the heck has that come from? Then she went on to insult me, her favourite pastime, and tell me repeatedly that I was ugly, short, and that Austin would never like me._

 _I brushed this off as normal at first, but eventually I just couldn't take it and slapped her, but instantly felt guilty. Then she told me I'd regret doing that and started to leave the store. That's when Austin got back. And that's when she smirked at me before grabbing Austin and kissing him. I wanted to vomit, but instead I just turned and ran and locked myself in the practice room. Austin tried to talk to me, but I wouldn't let him, and we sort of had an argument, and long story short we're not talking to each other, even though I've tried to call and text him._

 _But this isn't even the worst thing that's happened to me recently. That same night I got home a little later, because I'd been crying in the practice room and lost track of time. And when I got home, my dad… started hitting me._

 _And it's just gotten worse since then._

 _I can't believe all this is really happening to m_

But I don't get any further than that because I lose it and start crying. My tears fall down and hit the page, smudging the writing a little. I try to keep writing but find myself unable to.

That's when I hear footsteps pounding up the stairs. _'Please don't come in here!'_ I keep saying to myself over and over. Of course my wish doesn't come true as seconds later the door flies open.

"Allyson!" My dad shouts. "What have I told you about _crying_!?" He continues. "And what are you writing?" He asks.

He grabs my book out of my hands and out of instinct I shout "No!" and try to reach up and get it back, but my efforts are immediately halted by a stinging slap on my right cheek that instantly sends me back to being a heap on the floor.

I look up at him reading through the hair that is now covering my face. His expression turns from amusement to shock to anger as he quickly reads through the book. "Who's Austin, Ally?" He asks in a sinister voice.

"N-No one." I reply meekly.

"Really? He doesn't sound like a no one, Allyson." He then grabs me by the hair and pulls me up, causing me to scream in pain, but before I can really get it out he clasps my mouth shut with his hand. "Who. Is. Austin?" He asks me in between slaps to my face. "Some sort of boy toy, is he?" He hisses with another slap. "Of course he is, you little slut!" He shouts, before punching me in the stomach and throwing me back to the floor.

Then he really went for it.

That was by far the worst beating he's given me yet. It was relentless, it was horrendous. I was genuinely thinking whilst it was happening that he was going to just kill me. I was incapable of actually speaking, but in my head I was screaming out, begging for forgiveness for whatever it was I'd ever done to deserve this. And after about 10 minutes, when the pain was getting unbearable, I was ready to accept death. I started wondering how much longer it would be before I was gone. I could feel the life seeping out of my body with every strike, and I think he could sense it too, as just before I thought I was gone he finally stopped, laughed at me, spat on my face and walked out, telling me to clean up the mess that _I_ had just caused.

Even though the violence has stopped, I can still tell I'm on the verge of life and death, and the worrying thing was that at that point I was hoping for it to come down on the side of death so that my suffering would be over.

After about two hours of being in the same position, however, I felt the tiniest bit of strength enter my body and I slowly got up to my feet, but even that took about 20 minutes, as I kept stopping every time I made the tiniest movement as the pain was simply unbearable.

When I was up I looked around the room for the first time since it began. Nothing was noticeably different… apart from the huge blood stain where I was laying.

With shaky breaths I staggered over to my mirror, not entirely sure if I really wanted to see my own reflection. The sight of myself made me want to cry, but my tear glands were completely dried out form the last two hours of torture and pain. Brooke was definitely right about me – right now, at least.

I was a mess. My hair was everywhere, and my face was slightly pale from the blood loss and bruised in a few places. The tank top I'm wearing means I can clearly see every single bruise and cut on my body. My arms are entirely black and blue, there isn't a single spot on them that isn't covered in a bruise. I'm even thinner than normal, having not eaten a bite in the last two days.

I feel pathetic and worthless, like my dad has told me I am repeatedly in the last 48 hours. I've never felt so alone. I need someone. No, not just anyone. I need Austin.

I decide to send him one more text in a desperate attempt to get through to him.

 _To: Austin_

 _Austin, I really need you. Please._

I hit send and wait anxiously for the reply. I see that he's read it after about a minute, and at first there is no reply, and I resign myself to the fact that there's nothing I can do.

Then I get a reply, and for a second my hopes rise massively when I see it's from him. But these hopes are immediately crushed when I read the message.

 _From: Austin_

 _Go away, leave me alone._

Those words send an icy dagger through my heart as I read them. It was worse than not getting a reply at all, and I'm crushed.

I feel now like I completely deserve all the pain my dad is giving to me, and like I should be feeling that pain all the time.

My dad is passed out again, so he's not able to cause me any more pain right now, but I feel a surge of emotion within me telling me that I need that pain just to feel right.

I slowly and quietly get down the stairs and sneak past my sleeping dad into the kitchen. I grab the biggest, sharpest kitchen knife I can find, and reverse my actions as I go back up to my bedroom.

I'm not going to kill myself. Death seems too good for me. I deserve to be in constant pain, and death would only end that.

I sit on my bed, and bring the knife to my arm. I begin to make cuts.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

Ally's not in school today, and to be honest I'm kind of relieved. I know I said I want to speak to her, but I still don't feel like I'm ready yet.

Maybe I should have answered that text differently last night. I wonder what she meant when she said _'I need you_ '. I can only imagine she meant it in a similar way to _I_ did when I was trying to get her to let me in back at Sonic Boom. I told her I needed her to believe me and she told me to go away. So she told me she needed me and I responded the same way she had. Only fair.

It's morning break, and me and Trish are sat at a table in the cafeteria as normal.

"Hey guys." Dez greets as he walks over and joins us. I hadn't seen him that morning as I was running late and only got to school at the last second. "No Ally today?" He asks, confused.

Trish shakes her head. "No, she texted me saying she's ill and probably won't be in until Wednesday."

"Ah okay. It's kinda weird without her here, isn't it?" He replies.

He's right. It's not the same without her petite figure sat in the chair next to mine, making lame jokes and being adorkable.

Her absence is even more obvious during the free period we usually have together. I had no one to walk around with, no one to talk to, no one to share my music with. It was a little miserable, honestly. I miss her. But that doesn't mean I've forgiven her, and I'm still not ready to talk to her. It's kind of a good sort of missing someone, if that makes sense, because it's proving to me that I still like her, even if I'm not ready to talk with her just yet.

That time will come, though.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

There was no way I could have gone into school today. My dad made absolutely certain of that by the way he woke me up, and I'm pretty sure you can guess what his method was.

I have no intentions of going into school tomorrow either. I don't think I'll be mentally capable of seeing or speaking to anyone for a few days.

I managed to quickly text Trish saying I was 'ill' so that they wouldn't get suspicious. I've only ever missed three days of school, and even then I made sure I caught up on all the work I missed, but I don't think I can do that this time. All I care about for now is making sure that nobody comes to check up on me and focusing on something other than the pain I constantly feel.

I feel a little stupid and ashamed of myself after the whole self-harming experience I went through last night, but at the same time it actually did feel kind of good. I know I shouldn't want to cut myself and that I'm being completely ridiculous, but my life has gotten so bad recently that I also find it difficult to care too much.

My dad didn't seem to really care that I skipped school today. But then, he doesn't really care about me at all any more. I guess for him, me staying here all day meant he could have more time abusing me and getting drunk.

I'm worried about the store, though. If he's also at home hitting me all day, then there's no one working there. It's already been closed all weekend, and if it stays this way too much longer then people are going to get suspicious, which is the last thing I want.

But what can I do about it? I'm in no state to go and work there myself, and neither is my dad. And there is certainly no way in hell I could talk to him about it, at least not if I wanted to have any chance of being able to walk this week.

In the evening I realise I should probably take a bath or a shower, I haven't had one since Friday. I stagger my way into the bathroom. I don't have the strength to be able to stand under the water in the shower, so it will have to be a bath.

I start the water flowing, but try to make it quiet. If my dad knew he'd probably beat me for using up all the hot water. In fact, was using hot water a good idea? Oh well, too late now. When enough water is in I turn off the taps and add a small amount of bubble bath. That's gonna sting in my cuts. But I don't care.

I strip down and dip a toe into the water. It feels fine… but then again, my toes are the least injured part of my body. I grab my old shirt off the floor for something to embrace and scream into if the pain becomes too much, which I predict it will.

I slowly step into the bath, and gradually lower myself in. I'm glad I did pick up the shirt, as I scream into it more and more with every centimetre the tepid soapy water moves up my body. I can feel myself going light-headed from all the screaming, and just as I get my whole body into the bath, I pass out.

I wake up and look out the window. It's pitch black. My phone is on the floor just by the bath, so I reach down and press the home button. It's two o'clock Tuesday morning. In a sea of pain, I reach up and flick on the light.

I look back down and see that I am sat in the now cold, pink-tinted water, the shirt I was screaming into floating around. I find the strength to stand up and slowly step out. I let out the water and towel myself down, but feel sharp shocks of pain from every cut it moves across.

I dress into my pyjamas and quietly walk back into my room, crawling into bed and curling up into the foetal position, drifting effortlessly back to sleep.

I wake up to the sound of birds tweeting outside my window, and for a few seconds a small smile spreads across my face as I feel relaxed and calm. And then the pain hits me like a brick wall and I'm back to reality. Pain is just my life now.

It's Thursday evening now, and so far it's just been a week of pain. I've had enough. Of everything. Of being a coward and letting my dad abuse me. Of hiding at home and not being in school. Of cutting myself thinking it will be a release, only to be ashamed of myself later.

But I still have no one. I miss Austin.

I also miss music. Music was always my escape from the everyday, a chance for me to be happy for those few minutes I'm playing music. I haven't been able to do anything recently, for obvious reasons. But now is my chance, as my dad has gone down to the bar for another drink or twenty, so I grab my songbook and sit at my piano and spend the next hour feeling the best I have felt in a long time as I write a new song.

 **(Link to this song: watch?v=ghPcYqn0p4Y)**

 _Help, I have done it again_

 _I have been here many times before_

 _Hurt myself again today_

 _And the worst part is there's no one else to blame_

 _._

 _Be my friend_

 _Hold me, wrap me up_

 _Unfold me_

 _I am small and needy_

 _Warm me up_

 _And breathe me_

 _._

 _Ouch, I have lost myself again_

 _Lost myself and I am nowhere to be found,_

 _Yeah, I think that I might break_

 _Lost myself again and I feel unsafe_

 _._

 _Be my friend_

 _Hold me, wrap me up_

 _Unfold me_

 _I am small and needy_

 _Warm me up_

 _And breathe me_

 **(This song: Breathe Me by Sia)**

It feels amazing to get all that emotion poured out of me and into the song, and I feel a wave of confidence surge through me. Then and there I make my decision.

I'm going into school tomorrow.

. . . . .

 **There you go, guys, chapter 13. I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **These last two chapters have been really difficult for me to write. I have no personal experience with the issue I have been writing about, so everything you've read has come from my imagination with inspiration from some other stories I've read that contain this theme. I hope it came across okay and was somewhat realistic.**

 **I know these last two chapters have been a little depressing, but like I said I felt I needed to include them in the story. However, from this point Ally's life should slowly get back on track and this will be the last chapter containing abuse and self-harm to this level of detail.**

 **A huge thank you to everyone for reading, and an even bigger thank you to every single person who has followed, favourited and left a review, your support means more to me than I could ever describe! If you haven't done any of these things yet, please do and I will be forever grateful!**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story! I hope you're enjoying it so far.**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Fourteen: Tell Me**

 _Ally's POV_

I'm regretting my decision to go into school today. I've just woken up, and I'm debating whether or not I should actually bother. I haven't seen my Dad since the yesterday, before I wrote my song. I think I heard him stumble out of the front door at around midnight, probably off to a bar somewhere, but I am so weak at the moment that I've been sleeping pretty solidly.

I slowly stand up and start to go through my normal school-morning routine. It feels weird doing it now having not had to for the last week.

I feel brave enough to attempt to take a shower, I really need one. I step in and turn on the water, but make sure to have it on cold remembering how painful it was when I took a hot bath a few days ago. I have very little strength in my legs, and at first the power of the water hitting my body almost sends me flying, but I manage to remain standing and quickly wash, wincing and squealing occasionally when the body wash gets in a cut. I lightly rinse my hair so I don't have to spend too long drying it, before turning off the water and stepping out.

It takes me a while to decide what to wear today. I definitely need to wear jeans to cover my leg bruises, so I choose my white skinny ones. My stomach also needs to be covered, so a crop top is out of the question. I am also hesitant to choose a tank top because of my arms – I don't have enough make-up to cover all the bruises on them, and the cuts from the knife. So I choose a red long-sleeved v-neck t-shirt, and finish the look with a black denim jacket. I also put on my red flats, as if I tried to wear heels or wedges today I would definitely fall.

I leave my hair down and straightened today, to cover the back of my neck. I then have to apply quite heavy make up to cover all the bruises on my face, neck and the top of my chest due to the shape of the v-neck. I finish with some light eye-liner and mascara and a thin coat of light pink lipstick.

Finally satisfied that nobody should be able to tell what I've gone through, I glance at the time and and sigh when I see that I already should have left the house fifteen minutes ago. Looks like I'm not gonna be having breakfast today, either.

I also have a message from Trish asking if I'm gonna be in today, but I don't have time to reply and just ignore it.

I creep downstairs, relieved that there is still no sign of my Dad. I quietly walk out the front door and gently close and lock it, in case he was inside asleep somewhere and I just missed him. The last thing I would want in that situation would be to wake him, who knows what would happen to me if he caught me trying to go outside at all.

I sighed and smiled as the warm sunlight hit my face, which I haven't felt for a while, and take a deep breath of the crisp, fresh air that greets me. I put on my sunglasses and start to walk as fast as my weak, injured legs will carry me towards Marino High.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

It's finally Friday, the last day in what has been a long, long and I mean _long_ school week. The work has seemed more intensive than ever, the days longer, and I have felt lonelier. It's so different without Ally, and I really do miss her.

I haven't heard anything from her since I sent that message to her a few days ago, telling her to 'go away' when she reached out to me. I regret sending that message so much.

She's been ill all week, and I doubt she'll be in today, so I can just expect another boring, miserable day.

I get up and do my normal bathroom-shower routine, and get dressed. I put on my white and black plaid shirt, worn open over a white v-neck, with black ripped skinny jeans and white converse, along with my dog tags and whistle necklace, and out my hair in its normal perfectly messy state.

Both my parents are out of the house, as I discover when I go downstairs to get breakfast and find a note from them left on the counter for me saying that they had to get to the store earlier for some big business meeting. I couldn't really care any less.

I quickly made myself some pancakes and scoffed them down, before throwing my plate in the sink to be washed later and running back up the stairs to get my bag and books.

I throw my sunglasses on and stroll back downstairs and out the door, locking it before walking over to my car and getting in.

Soon after I was pulling into the car park of Marino High.

As I step out, I look up and see the jocks, now including Alex and Elliot, stood at the corner like normal. Alex is facing me but is currently eating Kimmy's face off, giving me dagger eyes over her shoulder. He has taken my advice and not come near me since our last 'discussion', but that hasn't stopped Kimmy and the rest of the popular girls still trying it on with me whenever they see me.

I just roll my eyes and shake my head slightly before walking off towards the steps leading up to the school, where Trish and Dez are stood arguing as per usual.

"I'm telling you, Trish, a pineapple would beat the crap out of a coconut!" Dez practically yelled. Here we go again.

"No way freckles, your pineapple wouldn't stand a chance!" Trish responded as they glared at each other.

"Guys?" I said as I approached them.

"What the hell's your coconut really gonna do, anyway? It's just round, like you!" Holy shit. That's low, Dez. But she doesn't really seem to care much, I think she's used to it from all her arguments with him. "The pineapple has spikes which would stab it in an instant!" Dez continued his argument.

"Guys." I repeated a little more firmly.

"Yeah but the pineapple's skin is weak and soft, whereas the coconut is hard and strong – the complete _opposite_ of _you_!" Trish retaliated.

"GUYS!" I shout, finally having had enough of this ridiculous argument.

"WHAT!?" They both shouted back at me in unison, before looking at each other and pulling a face when they realise that they had done the same thing at the same time.

"Are you guys _seriously_ arguing about which fruit would win in a fight?" I ask, disbelievingly.

They both blush a little and look sheepish as they realise how ridiculous it really is. It's pretty embarrassing, really – we're juniors and they're arguing about sentient fruits!

"Whatever, I'm right anyway so that's the end of it." Trish says dismissively. Dez opens his mouth to fight back but I give him a warning look not to and he closes it again.

"So, anyway, Trish have you heard from Ally this morning?" I ask. I can't bear not seeing her anymore, it's tearing me apart. If she's not in school today then I'm going to go to her house afterwards anyway, I just need to see her again.

"No, nothing. I sent her a text message asking if she was coming in, but I didn't get a reply." Trish replied, looking down at the ground. "I'm a bit worried."

"Me too." I reply as we turn and walk inside the building.

"Don't worry guys, she's probably just got a bug." Dez tried to reassure us. "And if she is ill then she was probably still asleep, which would explain why she didn't reply this morning." I hope he's right.

The bell rings, and me and Trish say bye to Dez and walk off towards homeroom. We get there and sit in the back row and begin to chat like we normally do.

About five minutes later, someone strolls in late. I look up and it's Ally. I've never been so relieved to see someone in my life, I'm so glad she's okay.

I smile brightly at her and wave to her, but she only replies with a rather half-hearted, weak one. I guess she's mad at me, and to be honest I don't really blame her.

She walks over to the teacher and apologises for being late, before walking back to where Trish and I are sat and giving us a small smile.

I suddenly feel awkward in her presence, and I really don't like it. I think Trish senses this and chooses to start the conversation so that I don't have to. "Hey Ally!" She says brightly as Ally pulls out a chair to sit with us. "You feeling better?"

"Yeah, thanks, pretty much." Ally replies with a small nod, not really looking at me.

"That's good." I reply, but she still doesn't look at me. "What was it that made you ill?" I ask.

Her eyes widen for a second, before quickly going back to normal. "Uh, I-I just had really bad food poisoning." She says, stumbling a little. I don't entirely believe her but decide to let it slide; the last thing I want right now is to get into an argument with her.

As she sat across from me and talked to Trish, I took the time to look at her – really properly look at her. It seemed like she was wearing a little more make up today than she normally does, but I guess if she's been ill and pale then she's probably just trying to cover that up. She still looks beautiful, though.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

I knew it. I knew it would be awkward between Austin and I, and I really didn't want it to be. When I walked into homeroom late and saw him there, all I wanted to do was run at him and jump straight into his arms and hug him tight forever. But obviously I couldn't do that.

I panicked when they asked me what made me sick, I hadn't thought about what I was going to say if they did ask that. I know that I probably should tell someone about what I've been going through, but I just can't, so (for now at least) I'll have to just go along with this food-poisoning-story and hope they buy it. With any luck they'll just drop the subject so I won't have to talk about it anymore.

It feels strangely good to be back in school after my few days off. I mean in comparison to what it's like at home right now this place is like paradise. For these few hours I'm at school I feel safe, I don't have to worry about when my next slap will be, I can just be free from all of that.

On the down side, it's Friday. Of course, usually Fridays are the best day of the week, because it's the start of the weekend. But for me, that's exactly why it's the worst. The weekend for me means being stuck at home. And being stuck at home means being in an enclosed space with my Dad.

I shudder at the thought of this alone, which causes Austin and Trish to look at me, concerned – after all, it's hardly normal to shudder in Miami in 85° heat! "You okay, Als?" Austin asks me.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." I reply with a small smile. "I-I just thought of something really weird and gross." I lied, hoping against hope that they'd again just drop it.

"Oh, what were you thinking of?" Trish asked with a small chuckle and a smile. Crap.

"Uh- it doesn't matter, trust me you don't really want to know, it's nothing." I say quickly, wanting them to catch on that I didn't want to go into details. Luckily, they seem to do just this as the conversation moves on.

The day seemed to pass by pretty quickly and uneventfully. It felt really good to be back with my friends again, I'd really missed them over the last few days, which had been when I had needed them more than I ever had before.

I was still a little mad at Austin for the message he sent me, but that's fair enough, right? I mean I reached out to him in my time of need, desperate for him to just be there for me, and he just shut me down. Of course I would forgive him eventually, like I said earlier I really want to just hug him, but at the same time I can't stop thinking about that message.

Before I knew it, it was time for AP Music – last lesson before I had to return to hell.

As soon as the lesson started Miss Kennedy set the rest of the class on a written task that would take them all lesson, before asking me to go with her into the practice room at the back of the classroom.

Once we were inside she told me that I hadn't missed too much whilst I'd been 'ill', all I needed to do to catch up was write one song about unity and sticking together, and that it would be best if I performed it for her as soon as possible, preferably at the end of that lesson. I smiled and told her no problem and sat down at the piano whilst she went back into the classroom.

I started to think about the song. I decided quickly that Breathe Me definitely wasn't the right choice for this project, so I would have to start from scratch.

The time passed in a blur, as it always does whenever I'm writing a song, and I was really quite proud of the finished product. Just as I had finished playing it through, Miss Kennedy walked back into the practice room and told me that there were five minutes left of the lesson and asked if I was ready to perform the song.

I told her I was and she sat down with her mark book and smiled, telling me to begin whenever I was ready. I smiled back and took a deep breath, before I began playing.

 **(Link to this song: watch?v=jBVY7Glcd84)**

 _We are the world's people_

 _Different yet we're the same_

 _We believe_

 _We believe_

 _In a dream_

 _Praying for peace and healing,_

 _I hope we can start again_

 _We believe_

 _We believe_

 _In a dream_

 _._

 _So if you ever feel love is fading,_

 _Together like the stars in the sky_

 _We can sing_

 _We can shine_

 _._

 _When you hear our voices call_

 _You won't be lonely anymore, oh_

 _A million voices_

 _Your heart is like a beating drum_

 _Burning brighter than the sun, oh_

 _A million voices_

 _._

 _Now as the world is listening_

 _From cities and satellites_

 _We believe_

 _We believe_

 _In a dream_

 _._

 _If you ever feel love is fading,_

 _Together like the stars in the sky_

 _We can sing_

 _We can shine_

 _Oh_

 _._

 _When you hear our voices call_

 _You won't be lonely anymore, oh_

 _A million voices_

 _Your heart is like a beating drum_

 _Burning brighter than the sun, oh_

 _A million voices_

 _._

 _When I look around at these faces_

 _I can see the stars in the sky_

 _We will sing_

 _We will shine_

 _._

 _When you hear our voices call_

 _You won't be lonely anymore, oh_

 _A million voices_

 _._

 _Singing out_

 _Singing out_

 _Oh_

 _Singing out_

 _Singing out_

 _Oh_

 _Singing out_

 _A million voices_

 _Singing out_

 _Singing out_

 _Oh_

 _Singing out_

 _Singing out_

 _Oh_

 _Singing out_

 _A million voices_

 _A million voices_

 **(Song: A Million Voices by Polina Gagarina: Eurovision 2015 – Russia)**

When I was done I turned to look at Miss Kennedy, who was beaming at me and writing in her mark book. "Excellent Ally!" She exclaimed. "That was _exactly_ the kind of song I was hoping for, well done!"

I smiled and thanked her quietly, before we both got up and walked back into the main classroom just as the bell rang, meaning it was the end of the day.

Me and Austin walked out of school together like we normally do, and it wasn't as awkward between us now as it had been this morning, which made me happy.

I really didn't want to go home, though. I was dreading having to face my Dad and explain that I went to school and just take whatever abuse came my way.

That's why I was so thankful when Austin suggested we went for a walk round the park as it was such a nice day, and obviously I instantly agreed and we smiled at each other before getting in his car and heading off towards the park.

When we got there the sun was beaming down brightly, it was the warmest day we'd had for a while, although I wouldn't know how the weather's been in the last week for obvious reasons.

"I could sort of hear part of your song in music, it sounded really great." Austin said, smiling down at me.

"Thanks." I replied with a smaller smile than his. "I think it was a little corny, but that's just what I had to do for the assignment I guess." He just nodded in response.

We walked over to where the lake was and strolled gently around it, making pleasant conversation. Then Austin said the one thing I had really been hoping all day that he wouldn't.

"Ally, are you sure you're okay? You haven't really been yourself today." He asked as we stopped and turned to face each other.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I guess I'm not completely back to 100% from my sickness." I lied in response, but I don't think he bought it.

"Okay, I didn't want to say anything earlier, but I don't think you really had food poisoning, did you?" Damn it.

I let out a heavy sigh and felt myself getting irritated. "Look, why do you even care? You did tell me to just 'go away'!" I quoted him using air quotes.

"I know and that was the wrong thing to say, I'm sorry. But of course I care, Als, you're my friend."

"Really, cause you sure haven't acted like it recently." I reply harshly.

"Als, seriously, what's going on? Please, tell me." He said more gently, but I still felt all fired up inside.

"No, Austin, why should I? Why did you tell me to just go away?" I shot back.

"Because I was mad! I was mad about what happened with Brooke at Sonic Boom, I was mad at how it made us fall out, I was mad at myself for allowing it to happen! And I know it was wrong. Ally, it's obvious to me that you're going through something right now, and I just want you to let me help. I'm here for you Ally, I always have been."

I scoffed at this. "Really?" I asked. "You've always been here for me?" I said in a sceptical tone, and he nodded. "Then where were you when I needed you?" I said more gently, letting all the emotion flood my face.

There was silence for a few seconds as we both though about the words I'd just said, and we also both realised that he had no good answer for that.

"Well?" I ask, raising my arms a little. "Austin, when I sent you that text it was because I needed you, all that mattered to me at that moment was you being there for me, to help me. And you just pushed me away." I said, my voice starting to get shaky as I was overcome with sadness.

"Ally, I-'' He started but I cut him off.

"Save it, Austin. Accept it. You weren't there." And with that I turn to walk away.

. . . . .

 **14 chapters done, only a few left in this story! But remember this is only the first part of a series of three, so there's still plenty left to look forward to :D**

 **Ally's finally returned to school, and it's lead to a bit of a blow-out between her and Austin which has left her questioning their friendship… will they be able to turn it around?**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite and review, it really helps and means a lot to me!**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story! I hope you're enjoying it so far.**

 **I've personally felt like the last few chapters have been kinda short and crappy so I made this one a bit longer to try and make up for that. I'm actually really proud of this chapter, I'm very happy with how it turned out in the end, so I really hope you enjoy it!**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Fifteen: Coming Clean**

 _Ally's POV_

" _Then where were you when I needed you?" I said more gently, letting all the emotion flood my face._

 _There was silence for a few seconds as we both though about the words I'd just said, and we also both realised that he had no good answer for that._

" _Well?" I ask, raising my arms a little. "Austin, when I sent you that text it was because I needed you, all that mattered to me at that moment was you being there for me, to help me. And you just pushed me away." I said, my voice starting to get shaky as I was overcome with sadness._

" _Ally, I-'' He started but I cut him off._

" _Save it, Austin. Accept it. You weren't there." And with that I turn to walk away._

But I only make it a few steps before I am stopped by a strong hand gripping onto my arms, physically bringing me to a sudden halt.

And I'm sure you can guess, this sudden pressure on my damaged, bruised arm is not exactly painless, and before I can stop myself I let out a high-pitched squeal of pain as I am turned around to face him again. Unfortunately, he definitely noticed the squeal too.

"What was that?" He asks with a serious look on his face.

I can't bear to look him in the eyes, so I instead stare at my feet as I simply reply, "Nothing, I was just surprised." in a timid voice.

"Don't lie to me Ally!" He replies loudly, clearly getting angrier. "That was not nothing! What's going on? What's wrong with your arm?"

"Austin, really, it's nothing! Please, just drop it already!" I plead.

"No Ally, tell me the truth!" He demands in an almost sinister tone.

This is only making me more frightened when he's supposed to be the one to comfort me and make me feel safe and secure. It's all becoming too much for me to handle and I can feel the tears threatening to fall as they prick the backs of my eyes. _'Stay strong, Ally.'_ I keep telling myself. ' _Stay strong._ '

But I know it's all no good when I feel the first tears leave my eyes.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

I don't understand why Ally's not telling me what's really going on here! Can't she see that all I'm trying to do is help her?

She's starting to cry now, and it's just making me feel like a terrible person. It's my fault she's crying, and I instantly regret being so forceful towards her.

"Als please don't cry!" I plead as I feel my facial features soften. "Come here." I say as I start to wrap her up into my arms in a hug. But, as I hold onto her arms to bring her towards me, she winces again. That's it, I've had enough! "Ally, please…" I almost whisper. "I'm begging you here, just please tell me what's going on so I can help."

She looks up at me with teary eyes and a few running down her cheeks, which I gently rub off. She looks down at her arms and slowly starts to roll up one of her sleeves, but she only gets it up about an inch before she stops.

I gently remove her hand from the sleeve and replace it with my own before continuing to gradually bring it up her arm.

What is revealed to me with every centimetre the sleeve moves makes me feel sick. Her entire arm is completely covered in black and blue bruises, I can't see any of her usual beautiful pale skin. But that's not the worst of it, as she turns her arm over, revealing the underside, and I can instantly see scars running across her lower arm all the way up to her elbow, and I can instantly recognise them as cuts from a knife.

I feel my blood run cold. Had she… had Ally… had she been self-harming? "Ally, di-'' But I'm cut off by her fragile voice.

"Wait, there's more." She rolls up her other sleeve, revealing that her left arm is identical to her right. She then proceeds to lift up the hem of her shirt, revealing an equally battered and bruised stomach, and the sick feeling returns to me. It doesn't even end there, as she rolls up the bottoms of her jean legs, showing her lower legs to be in the same condition. "My upper legs are the same but obviously I can't show you that." She says with a hint of a chuckle, but I am too shocked and appalled and sad to pick up on it right now.

She then opens her bag and pulls out make-up wipes, before bringing one to her face and beginning to rub it. When she brings the wipe away from her face, I fail to suppress the shocked gasp that leaves my throat and I feel my hand clamp itself over my mouth, as I take in her beautiful, delicate, perfect face now almost unrecognisable because of all the bruising.

I can feel tears gathering in my eyes as I look over the most beautiful girl in the world, who's been damaged almost beyond recognition. "Ally, I-I… h-wha…" I try desperately to say something, _anything_ , but all powers of speech have left me. She just looked back down at the ground.

I place my hand under chin and gently raise it so she's looking me in the face. "Ally, I'm so sorry." I finally manage to say, before pulling her into a hug, but making sure to really be barely touching her so as not to cause her any pain. She starts sobbing uncontrollably into my chest and I gently run my fingers through her hair. "Als, who did this to you?" I barely whisper to her.

I am shocked even more than I already have been today by her reply – "My Dad."

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

"My Dad." I say quietly as I continue to cry relentlessly into Austin's chest. I've missed this so much, I finally feel safe in his arms, like nothing can hurt me at this moment.

"Your _Dad_?" I hear Austin's disbelieving voice. I nod in reply, knowing he'll feel it against his body. "How? Why? When?" He says gently. "That is, if you want to tell me. I'm not going to force you anymore."

I look up and smile softly at him. "No, I need to tell you. It feels good to get it all off my chest at last." I say before resting my head sideways against his chest, listening to his soothing heartbeat.

He doesn't say anything in response but I can tell even from the silence that he's ready to listen.

"It started last Friday. After the whole Brooke thing and our argument and you left, I stayed in that practice room crying my eyes out for hours." I begin. "By the time I finally pulled myself together and got up and went home it was late. Really late. I got home and walked inside, expecting my parents to be asleep by that point, but as I shut the door I turned around and my Dad was stood there." I cringe a little as the memories come back to me, and I get scared even thinking about my Dad standing by the door.

Austin senses this as he holds me a little closer and rubs small circles in my back with his thumb, comfortingly.

"He was drunk, I could tell right away, and the house was a tip. He started yelling at me about why I was home so late, and next thing I knew…" I trail off. "He slapped me." I start to cry again, but I am determined to keep going. "And it's been pretty much non-stop since then. Today is the first day I've left the house, every other day has just been… well, I'm sure you can guess." I finish quietly.

"Als, why didn't you just tell me?" He asks quietly as he continues to comfort me.

"I tried. Remember?" I say with a slight edge to my voice. "That's why I said 'I need you'."

I feel Austin's body tense up slightly as he realises how everything clicks together. "Oh my God Ally I'm so sorry, I've been such an idiot this is all my fault!" He starts gushing apologies.

"Austin, stop. It's not all your fault, I promise." I reassure him. "I'm just glad you know it all now."

There is silence for a couple of seconds. "Ally, those cuts on your arm… did you do them yourself?" He says in a hushed tone.

It hurts me to even say this but I know I have to respond truthfully. "Y-yes. It started that night I texted you, and it just developed from there." I reply.

"So that _is_ my fault… you hurt yourself because of me. Oh my God I'm such an idiot!" He says this more to himself than to me, especially the last part. I don't know how to respond to that one because it is kinda true. "Why didn't you call the police, or anybody? What about your Mom?"

"I haven't seen my Mom since Saturday. And she wasn't in much of a better condition than me. I think she's been hiding herself away somewhere, but I don't know where she is. And I was too scared to tell anyone else. I mean you've seen yourself how scared I was to even tell you, and you're my best friend."

"Ally this is terrible, we need to tell somebody now!" He says, as I finally release myself from his arms.

"I-I can't. I'm too scared, Austin." I whisper.

"I promise you, Als, I'm going to be right by your side from now on until this is all finished with, okay? And you're coming home with me tonight, no way in hell am I letting you go back to spend another second with that monster!" He tells me, reassuringly.

"Thanks, Austin. I don't know what I'd do without you right now." I respond truthfully, hugging him again. "I'm just so frightened." I say shakily into his ear as the tears threaten to return.

"And you will for a while, that's to be expected." He replies gently, rubbing my back. "But it will get better in time, and I'm gonna help you put the whole thing behind you."

I'm so happy here in Austin's arms, he always knows exactly what to say, and only he can make me feel safe and secure, I never want to leave his embrace. Oh my God, do I… do I like Austin?

No, I can't. Surely not. Austin's my best friend, it's not possible for me to have a crush on him, right? I'm just really emotional right now, it's a difficult time for me, so my feelings are all over the place. Yeah, that's gotta be it! But there's still this feeling that I can't escape, making me feel like I definitely like him.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

"Okay, so you're going to be living with me for a while, no questions!" I say when we leave the hug. "And I don't care what my parents say, you're staying with me whether anyone likes it or not, and I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Ally smiles up at me after she's pulled her sleeves and jean legs back down (her top had fallen back down to cover her stomach as soon as she let go of it). God how I've missed that beautiful smile. "Thanks for doing all this, Austin, I seriously wouldn't know what to do without you."

"It's no problem, Als, I just want you to be safe." I reply, smiling in return. "Do you want to drop by your house and get a few things for now? Will _he_ be there?" I asked cautiously as we start to walk out of the park.

"Umm… I don't know." She begins hesitantly. "I mean yes I definitely need to grab a few clothes and things, but I don't know if he'll be there. There was no sign of him when I left this morning… that's kinda the only reason I even came to school today. Honestly, he could be anywhere… should we risk it?"

"Well I'm gonna be right here with you, so I think we can try. Who knows, we might be able to try and find your Mom too." I say optimistically, because that's the kind of attitude we need for what we're about to do.

We got into my car and I started to drive towards her house, or rather her old house, as she gave me directions. I could tell she was nervous so I took one of her hands in mine whilst keeping the other on the wheel as I drove. She was squeezing it tighter and tighter the closer we got to the house, almost completely cutting off my circulation!

We finally got there and I pulled up slowly outside. "Well, this is it." She said, before stepping out of the car as I did the same.

I took her hand again and slowly led her up the path to the front door. She fished her keys out of her pocket and put them in the lock, and we slowly opened the door.

As soon as we walked through the door I was hit by the horrific smell of alcohol, the entire house reeked of it. So far there was no sign of Ally's Dad, but we both knew we still had to be quiet in case he was there but just hadn't heard us yet.

We slowly climbed the stairs and I felt like I was going to be sick, the smell of dried blood was mixing with that of the alcohol and I could see spots of it all over the floor and a little on the walls. She led me into what I guess was her bedroom and quickly pulled out her suitcase from under her bed. As she was stuffing clothes and valuables into it I looked around her room.

It was a fairly normal teenage girls room, a mirror and pictures on the walls and a desk, chair and wardrobe as well as a bookcase and a fairly old-looking piano. But as I looked around at her bed I gasped as I saw the huge blood stain on the carpet next to it, and suddenly the entire situation became a lot more real to me, and as soon as Ally stood up again I engulfed her in a bear hug. "I'm so sorry for what you've had to go through, you've been so strong so just keep it up. It's only going to get better from here, I promise."

She smiled back as I released her. "I think I have everything I need." She said softly, taking one last look around her bedroom before we walked out.

We were fairly certain by this point that her Dad wasn't in the house, so we decided to spend a few minutes looking around for her Mom. "Mom!" Ally called out as she walked downstairs to look around down there whilst I searched upstairs.

I checked all the rooms thoroughly and couldn't find her anywhere, the entire place was silent. Until that silence was shattered by a scream coming from downstairs that I instantly recognised as Ally. "Ally!" I yelled as I sprinted down the stairs.

Stood in the doorway, holding onto Ally's arm with a death grip was the man I hated more than anyone else in the world, the man responsible for the pain and suffering of the most perfect girl I've ever known – her own Dad.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" He said in a taunting tone, looking at Ally. "Where the hell have you been today, Allyson?" His voice suddenly became a lot more threatening and it sent shivers down my spine.

"A-at school, Dad." Ally replied calmly. He hadn't noticed me yet and I decided to stay quiet… for now.

"What did you go to school for? You're pathetic, you don't deserve anything, let alone to go to school. I thought I'd already taught you that lesson, Allyson." He growled in a threatening tone, as he squeezed Ally's arm a little tighter, causing her to whimper and squeal in pain. Now it was time for me to step in.

"Let go of Ally!" I say in my toughest, most demanding voice.

He turned to look at me, and the look in his eyes made me feel sick. He really was a monster. "And who the hell are you?" He yells at me. He turns back to Ally. "Well? Who is this, you little bitch?" He spat in her face. "Is he your sex buddy or something? Ha, I always knew you were nothing but a little slut." He said, bringing his arm up about to slap her. I lost it at this point.

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" I yelled as I launched myself at him, tackling him to the ground and landing on top of him. I started punching him in the face as hard as I could repeatedly, letting out all my anger at him for hurting the most precious thing in the world. "I hope you die in prison you monster!" I continued to yell in between punches. I finished with a firm knee in the crotch, sending him writhing in pain, before a final punch in the head to leave him unconscious.

I looked over to see Ally crying in the corner, I instantly ran over to her and scooped her up in my arms, bridal style. "Come on, we need to go _now_!" I say in a rush, before running out the door with her in my arms, grabbing her suitcase as we went. I'd normally have no chance running this quick whilst carrying her and her bag, but adrenaline can give you the power to do incredible things, I guess!

I quickly strapped her into the passenger seat and threw her suitcase into the back, before getting into the driver's side and putting on my seatbelt before speeding off towards my house. We got there in record time, and luckily by this point she had calmed down a bit. "You okay?" I asked her gently, turning in my seat to face her.

She offered me a small, sad smile and a nod in reply. We got out of the car and I got her suitcase from the back. I took her hand again, and I could tell she was really nervous.

"Don't worry, Als, you'll be safe here. And remember I'm right here with you." I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before we walked up the steps to my house. "Anybody home?" I call out as we walk through the front door.

"In the kitchen, sweetie!" I hear my Mom shout in reply, and I lead Ally through to where she is reading the newspaper at the table. "Hi honey, how was your da-'' She stops as she looks up and sees Ally, who shrinks behind me a little. "Who's this, Austin?" She says with a small smile, which turns to a look of confusion as she sees the suitcase in my other hand.

"Mom, this is my best friend Ally Dawson. She needs to stay with us for a while." I say, leaving her no room to argue.

"Oh, uh- well yes, of course, we'd be happy to have you sweetie." She replies, smiling at Ally as she said the last bit, who seems to be relaxing a little more gradually. "But may I ask why?"

"No, Mom, it would be better if you didn't." I replied quickly, but I think she could kind of tell from the bruises on Ally's face which her make-up had been covering.

"Okay, I understand." Mom continued sweetly, still a little taken aback by the whole situation. "Well, hi Ally, I'm Mimi. Austin's Dad Mike isn't home yet but he should be fairly soon, but don't worry about anything. You're welcome to stay as long as you need to." She finished with a smile. Wow, I'd forgotten how great my Mom could be sometimes.

"Thank you Mimi." Ally replied timidly, with a small smile, still stood half behind me.

"Um, well with regards to rooms and stuff, I'm afraid we don't have a lot of space, but um… maybe if you went in Austin's and Austin can take the couch down here?" She suggested.

"Uh, no, Mom, I think Ally _needs_ to stay with me. I'll go on the floor and she can have my bed, but I don't want to leave her alone right now." I say, giving my Mom a _'please don't argue or question me_ ' look, and I'm pretty sure she understood.

"Oh, okay, sure, I'm pretty sure I can trust you." She replied, and I subtly mouthed a _'thank you'_. "Well, why don't you go and help Ally get settled in and I'll make us all something to drink, okay?" She finished with a smile and we both nodded in reply.

"Thanks again, Mimi." Ally said with a smile as we began to leave the room.

"No problem, dear. Just let me or Austin know if you need anything." The two women shared a smile before me and Ally turned and walked upstairs to my room.

"Well, this is my room." I said as I opened the door to it. "It's uh nothing special but for now I guess what's mine is yours." I said as I put down her suitcase on my bed.

"No, no, it's perfect." Ally said as she walked over to the window.

"Okay, so you can have the bed and I'll get another blanket and pillow and go on the floor, sound okay?" I say. She just nods meekly. "Cool, why don't you get unpacked, those bottom two drawers are empty so you can go ahead and use those." I say pointing to my dresser. "Just tell me if you need more space, I'm just gonna go and get my blanket, okay?"

"Cool, thanks." Ally replies with a smile. I nod in response before turning and walking out the door and back downstairs.

"Austin, can I talk to you?" My Mom says as I reach the bottom.

"Sure." I say and follow her into the living room and we sit down on the couch. "What's up?"

"Okay, so I know I didn't push for details earlier, but I really do need to know why Ally needs to stay with us." She begins. "And I couldn't help but notice that her face was a little bruised and I'm just concerned for her… what's happened, Austin?"

I didn't really want to tell her but I knew she needed to know so I sighed deeply and began to explain, talking quietly. "Okay, long story short, last weekend Ally's Dad turned abusive, and he's been beating her all week for nothing. No one has any idea where her Mom is, and I'm the only person Ally's told and I didn't find out until today. We went back to her house before we came here to get some things for her, and her Dad was there. Let me tell you, there is no way in hell I ever want to let her anywhere near that man ever again." I said through gritted teeth remembering the vile guy.

"Oh my God, that poor girl." My Mom said sadly, looking at the ground. "Has she called the police or anyone?"

"No, she's been too scared, but leave it with me I'm trying to convince her. Please don't try and intervene, Mom." I plead with her. "Let me and her handle this."

"Don't worry, Austin, I won't. For now, at least. But I'm going to give you a week, if you haven't done something by then I'm going to have to step in, honey, people are in danger until this man is caught." She says, placing a hand on my knee.

"I know, that's what I'm trying to convince her of. Trust me Mom, we'll sort this." I reply, putting my hand on top of hers.

"Okay, good." She replies. There is silence for a couple of seconds. "So Ally seems like a lovely girl. Is she, uh, _just_ your friend?" She says with a small smirk.

"Mom!" I reply, annoyed. I knew she'd ask this. She just giggles in response.

"I'm just saying, Austin, you two seem to have quite a special bond." She continues, winking at me. Ugh, it should be illegal for anyone over the age of 30 to wink!

"No, Mom, Ally's just my friend." I reply firmly. She raises an eyebrow at me. "Fine, if you _must_ know, I _do_ have a bit of a crush on her. But she won't feel the same way, and right now she's going through way too much for me to be trying to get with her. At the moment she just needs me to be a friend, so that's what I'll be." I say.

"You're a good guy, Austin, I'm proud of you." Mom replies, with a glint in her eye. "You're doing the right thing, and I'm sure she'll feel the same way, but you're right to give her time because of all this." She says, pulling me into a side hug.

"Thanks Mom. I should really go and be with her, though. I don't want to leave her alone for too long right now." I reply, standing up.

"Alright, honey, go on up. Dinner will be around 7, okay?" She says as she walks back through to the kitchen.

"Yeah, thanks Mom." I say back as I grab a blanket and pillow out from the cupboard before walking back upstairs.

I stop just outside my door, though, when I hear soft piano notes coming from inside. I smile as I listen to the melody for a couple of minutes before knocking on the door and walking in.

Ally's sat at my electric piano, with her songbook out in front of her. She turns to me with a smile when I walk in. "Hey." She greets.

"Hi, you all unpacked?" I ask, returning the smile as I set the blanket and pillow down on the floor.

"Uh-huh." She replies happily, as she turns back around to face the piano keys.

"What you playing?" I ask as I walk over to her.

"Just a song I just wrote." She replied casually.

"Cool, can I hear it?" I ask.

She turns to look at me. "Uh, o-okay. It's kind of about you, actually." She says timidly.

"Really?" I ask, confused. Why has she written a song about _me_?

"Yeah. I mean I'm so… tell you what, just listen to the song first. It should be fairly self-explanatory, but I'll explain it all at the end if I need to.

"Okay…" I reply, excited but also slightly anxious to hear the song.

She turns back to the piano, takes a breath and begins to play. I smile as her beautiful voice and the gentle piano notes fill the room.

 **(Link to this song: watch?v=2ebfSItB0oM)**

 _Wrapped up, so consumed by all this hurt_

 _If you ask me, don't know where to start_

 _Anger, love, confusion_

 _Roads that go nowhere_

 _I know there's somewhere better_

 _'Cause you always take me there_

 _._

 _Came to you with a broken faith_

 _Gave me more than a hand to hold_

 _Caught before I hit the ground_

 _Tell me I'm safe, you've got me now_

 _._

 _Would you take the wheel_

 _If I lose control?_

 _If I'm lying here_

 _Will you take me home?_

 _Could you take care of a broken soul?_

 _Will you hold me now?_

 _Oh, will you take me home?_

 _Oh, will you take me home?_

 _Oh, will you take me home?_

 _Oh, will you take me home?_

 _Oh, will you take me home?_

 _._

 _Hold the gun to my head, count 1, 2, 3_

 _If it helps me walk away then it's what I need_

 _Every minute gets easier_

 _The more you talk to me_

 _You rationalize my darkest thoughts_

 _Yeah, you set them free_

 _._

 _Came to you with a broken faith_

 _Gave me more than a hand to hold_

 _Caught before I hit the ground_

 _Tell me I'm safe, you've got me now_

 _._

 _Would you take the wheel_

 _If I lose control?_

 _If I'm lying here_

 _Will you take me home?_

 _Could you take care of a broken soul?_

 _Oh, will you hold me now?_

 _Oh, will you take me home?_

 _Oh, will you take me home?_

 _Oh, will you take me home?_

 _Oh, will you take me home?_

 _._

 _You say space will make it better_

 _And time will make it heal_

 _I won't be lost forever_

 _And soon I wouldn't feel_

 _Like I'm haunted, oh, falling_

 _You say space will make it better_

 _And time will make it heal_

 _I won't be lost forever_

 _And soon I wouldn't feel_

 _Like I'm haunted, oh, falling_

 _You say space will make it better_

 _And time will make it heal_

 _I won't be lost forever_

 _And soon I wouldn't feel_

 _Like I'm haunted, oh, falling_

 _._

 _Would you take the wheel_

 _If I lose control?_

 _If I'm lying here_

 _Will you take me home?_

 _Could you take care of a broken soul?_

 _Oh, will you hold me now?_

 _Oh, will you take me home?_

 _Oh, will you take me home?_

 _Oh, will you take me home?_

 _Oh, will you take me home?_

 _Oh, will you take me home, home?_

 _Oh, will you take me home?_

 _Oh, will you take me home?_

 **(Song: Take Me Home by Jess Glynne)**

We were both in tears by the end of the song. It was absolutely beautiful – almost as beautiful as the person singing it.

I didn't know what to say, and clearly she didn't either, so silence replaced the beautiful music. It was clear that Ally had poured her absolute heart and soul into that song, and she was completely broken at the end of it.

Instead of saying something that would inevitably sound pathetic and stupid, I took her hand and pulled her gently up off the piano stool and into my waiting arms, where she continued to cry. I kissed the top of her head as I stroked her hair.

"I'm pretty sure I got the message of the song, but would you just make sure I got it right?" I said quietly, not releasing her.

"Austin, I really do appreciate everything you're doing to help me right now, it means the world to me. But the point of the song is, are you really sure you're capable and want to do all this? I'm going to be a wreck for a while, are you sure you can, and more importantly, want to deal with that?" She said gently, looking up at me with those gorgeous brown doe eyes.

"Ally, of course! I will do whatever it takes to make sure you are safe and as happy as possible with me, no matter how difficult that is or how long it takes, okay?" I said, looking deep into her eyes. I adore everything about this girl. Maybe I should just come clean and tell her how I feel… but then I think about what my Mom and I said earlier.

"Okay. But why will you do all this for me?" She continued to question.

"Ally, I will do _anything_ for you, because…"

. . . . .

 **Ha ha! That's the end of the chapter! Will Austin confess to Ally how he really feels about her?**

 **Sorry to leave it at such a good moment, but I just couldn't resist :D**

 **We now know that Ally thinks she may have similar feelings to Austin, but neither of them know how the other feels! Ally's living with Austin now, will everything run smoothly or will it cause tension? And is Lester finally out of the picture for good? Find out in the next chapter.**

 **A massive thank you to everybody who has followed, favourited and reviewed so far, it really means so much and please remember to keep on doing it!**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story! I hope you're enjoying it so far.**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Sixteen: Getting Help**

 _Austin's POV_

 _I adore everything about this girl. Maybe I should just come clean and tell her how I feel… but then I think about what my Mom and I said earlier._

" _Okay. But why will you do all this for me?" She continued to question._

" _Ally, I will do anything for you, because…"_

"Because what?" Ally asks when I don't say anything more for a few seconds.

I can't do it. No matter how much I want to, I can't tell her how I really feel. At least not yet, anyways –when the time is right, I will, but that time is not now. "Because you're my best friend." I simply reply, although it slightly pains me to say it. And I see the tiniest flash of disappointment in her eyes, too… wait, does she like me too? This is too much right now, I'm going to mess this up massively if I don't change the subject soon.

"Oh." She simply replies, looking down. "Well, that's great. Thanks again, Austin. You're the best." She continues, looking back up at me.

Thankfully, before I can say anything to screw things up even more, we hear the front door open. My Dad's home. Ally instantly tenses up again, but I grab her hand and feel her instantly relax.

"Hey, Als, look at me." I say gently, tilting her head so we're looking into each other's eyes. "It's okay, trust me."

She smiles. "Thanks, I know, but I can't help but be a little worried. I guess we need to go and see him, but just let me put on a little make up." She says, scurrying over to her make up bag placed in front of my mirror.

"Ally, you really don't need to wear any. My Mom saw you without it, didn't she?" I reply, walking over and putting my hands on the backs of her shoulders as I stand behind her, watching her frantically apply some foundation.

"I know, don't worry, I'm just going to cover the worst bits, it won't take a sec." She smiles at me in the mirror as she continues to put the make up on.

A minute later she's ready, which is perfect timing considering at the exact same time my Dad's voice rings out from downstairs asking me to come downstairs.

"Ready?" I ask with a small smile, which she returns before nodding. "Let's go then." I take her hand for support and we walk out and down the stairs together.

We walk into the living room, where my Dad is sat on one of the two couches, with my Mom occupying the other one. This doesn't really leave anywhere for me and Ally to sit, so we just stand I the doorway. Ally, like earlier, stands a little behind me, nervous.

"Hey, Dad." I say casually as he looks up at us.

"Hi Mr Moon." Ally timidly speaks up.

He smiles and chuckles slightly. "Please, call me Mike." He says warmly. Wow, honestly I'm surprised how nice they're being towards Ally and how well they're accepting the situation. "I'm assuming you must be Ally."

Ally nods, but stays a little behind me. I guess she must be a little nervous around middle-aged men, considering the last one she saw was practically trying to kill her. "Nice to meet you." She quietly says.

"Nice to meet you too, I just wanted to welcome you to our house and make sure you've settled in alright. Don't be afraid to come to any of us if you need anything." He says kindly and Ally just nods again. "Well, that's all I needed to say, so you two can go back upstairs now."

Ally and I smile a little and then turn back around and walk back upstairs.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

I've settled into life at Austin's house pretty quickly. I feel so much safer and happier here, and it definitely helps that I have Austin here to help me through it all.

Mimi cooked us a delicious pasta dish for dinner, and her and Mike have been really welcoming and kind towards me.

True to his word, Austin hasn't left my side at all, apart from when he went to get his blanket and pillow… and, obviously, when either of us has needed to use the bathroom. He's amazing, really. He's always checking if I'm okay, getting me things, holding me when I get a bit sad, and just being there for me whenever I need him. I'm so lucky to have him.

It's just gone 10pm and we've decided it's time to go to bed, we've both had a long day after all. Austin allows me to use the bathroom first for my nightly routine. I pull my hair up into a ponytail and change into my pyjamas, which consist of a yellow tank top and some black short shorts. I quickly remove the little make up I put on before meeting Mike and brush my teeth before walking back into Austin's bedroom.

When he looks up at me he freezes. I instantly, panic, what's wrong? Then I realise that this is the first time he's seen my bruised legs, properly anyways. "A-Austin? You okay?" I ask, walking towards him.

"Yeah, I-I just can't believe what that guy did to you." He says solemnly. I throw my arms around his neck and hug him.

"I know, me neither. But it's over now, I feel safe with you. I'm gonna be okay." I say, feeling strong and confident for the first time in a while. "Okay?" I say when I pull back from the hug.

"Yeah, you're right." He says, looking at the floor with a small smile. "I just hate seeing you like this." I return the smile and he walks out to the bathroom to change and do whatever whilst I get into his king-sized bed, which I must say is _very_ comfortable, much more than mine anyways.

A few minutes later Austin walks back into the room in his pyjamas – a pair of plaid flannel pants with an old t-shirt. The pants look a little short on him, and the shirt is definitely too small, and I'm guessing he doesn't usually wear pyjamas to bed but he just is because I'm here, which makes me giggle slightly.

"You okay, then?" He asks me as he gets his blanket and pillow arranged so he'll be comfortable.

"Yeah, I think so." I reply as I settle into the incredibly soft mattress – his parents do own a mattress store, after all – and curl up slightly like I usually do.

"Alrighty then. Night Ally." He says as he turns off the light before getting under his blanket.

"Night Austin." I reply softly, before closing my eyes and trying to sleep.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

I fell asleep straight away, completely worn out by the day's… events. However, I wake up soon after to the barely audible sound of soft crying and whimpering.

It's dark, the only light being the moon beams coming in through the window, and I look on my phone to see it's 1:30 in the morning. I listen carefully, and I can definitely hear quiet sobs coming from my bed. "Ally?" I call out in a whisper so I don't wake my parents. "Ally, are you okay?" I whisper-shout a few seconds later when I don't get a reply.

"No, n-n-no-not really." Comes the sobbing reply, a sound which makes my heart break.

I quickly stand up and walk over to my bed and sit down on the opposite side to her, pulling her into my side for a hug and she buries her head into my shoulder. "What's the matter?" I ask gently as I softly brush a few strands of hair out of her face behind her ear.

"I'm s-s-scared." She continues to sob quietly, wrapping her arms tighter around my torso.

"Hey, hey, hey," I softly say, gently pulling her so she's sat sideways across my lap. "What are you scared of?"

"I-I don't really kn-know." Ally replies, gradually stopping crying. "Everything's j-just a little bit weird now."

"I know, Als, I know." I say comfortingly, with my arms wrapped around her waist, rubbing small circles on her hip with my thumb. "But it's all going to be okay, remember? I'm not going anywhere, and we're going to get through this together, yeah?"

She nods in response. "I still just can't believe this is really happening to me, though." She says, looking down at her fingers. "I mean… it's my Dad. He wouldn't hurt a fly and yet he-he did _this_ to me." She says barely audibly.

"It's a shock, of course." I reply, pushing the side of her shoulder gently so she's leaning against my chest. "But all that's happened is that your Dad has shown the world who he really is. And it's just horrible that you had to be involved in that."

"Mm-hmm." Ally hums in response, nodding at the same time. She's stopped crying now, though, which is definitely a relief. "But it's not just me though…" She says before drifting into a silence. I was about to ask her what she meant when she explained herself anyway. "I'm worried about my Mom."

I'd almost completely forgotten about her Mom in all of this, and when I stopped to think about it I realise that Ally actually was right to be worried. Nobody knows whether she's even still _alive_. But right now Ally can't afford to think like that, and I need to do my best to convince her it will all turn out well. "Hey, don't be Als. I'm sure she's fine. We'll find her, and we're gonna get this whole mess sorted out, yeah?"

"Yeah…" She barely whispers back, and I can tell that she doesn't completely believe it.

"But, Als, you know that if we want to get this properly sorted for good we _need_ to go to the police. We can't handle this ourselves." I know Ally is afraid of this but it's the truth. Much as I am determined to do absolutely everything that I can to help her, it's not something we can solve alone.

"But Austin, you know I-''

I cut her off by gently placing a finger on her lips, loving how soft they feel even though I know this is not the time to be thinking about that. "Shhh, you need to rest Ally. We'll talk about everything properly in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Thanks for everything Austin." She replies gently.

"No problem. I'm just glad you're safe here with me. You okay now?" I ask softly into her ear. Part of me doesn't really want to be so I can keep holding her like this, but I know that's wrong.

"Yeah I think so." She says quietly.

"Good." I reply and lift her off me and gently put her back down under the covers. I'm about to get up and go back to my blanket on the floor when Ally stops me by putting her hand on my arm.

"Austin?" She asks and I turn to look at her.

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind… just for tonight… staying with me? You just make me feel a lot safer." She says timidly, looking at her hands, and although it's dark I think I can see a slight blush on her face.

I can barely believe what I'm hearing. Do I want to spend the night in the same bed as my crush? Hell yeah! A huge smile immediately flashes across my face, but I try and wipe it off before Ally can see and get the wrong idea – this is not the time for me to be thinking about how much I adore her! "Sure thing, Als." I reply quietly, even though I'm kinda freaking with excitement on the inside.

I climb under the covers with her and wrap my arms around her, pulling her in so she's facing me, her face just in front of my chest and our legs intertwining. I have to admit, I definitely like the feeling of snuggling like this with Ally. "Night Austin." She says quietly.

"Night Als." I reply, kissing the top of her head. "Sweet dreams."

And with that we both promptly fall asleep.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

When I open my eyes as I wake up, I see a grey t-shirt about an inch from my face and feel a strong pair of arms around my waist, as well as warm air softly blowing against the top of my head at regular intervals.

I look up and see a peacefully sleeping Austin, and I have to admit he looks mega cute when he's sleeping. For a second I allow myself to enjoy the feeling of being like this with Austin, and how right it feels waking up in his arms, but then I force myself to push those thoughts out of my head as I again think that I'm just a mess of emotions with no clue what's right at the moment.

I turn myself around in his arms, so my back is now facing him, and turn on my phone which is on the bedside table, and see it's 9am. Thank God it's a Saturday… we'd already be late for school if it was a weekday, plus I don't think I would be able to face anybody today after the events of the last 24 hours.

I put my phone back down and turn back around, deciding I might as well enjoy the feeling of being in Austin's warm, protective embrace for a little while longer.

I closed my eyes and just lay there, relaxed and comfortable with a small smile on my face. A couple of minutes later I hear and feel Austin shifting around a little and realise he must have also woken up. I'm about to open my eyes and speak to him when I feel him start stroking my hair, and I decide to leave them closed and pretend to be asleep for now so he doesn't stop.

"Oh Als." He barely whispers. This should be interesting. "You are so beautiful." He continues, and it takes all my willpower not to blush as that would give me away. "Why can't I just work up the nerve to tell you how I really feel?" Wait, WHAT!? "I just want to be yours, and for you to be mine, but I'm so afraid you won't feel the same way." I'm internally freaking out right now but I'm doing my absolute best to stay completely still and not change my facial expression. "Please feel the same way…" is the last thing he says before I feel him press his soft lips against my forehead.

I use this as my opportunity to 'wake up', pretending that the kiss is what woke me up. I stir around and gradually open my eyes, looking up at Austin and smiling. "Morning." I say softly. I then look at our position, snuggled together, and back up at him.

He blushes a little and quickly releases me from his arms and sits up, and I do the same. Why was he so quick to let go of me? Especially after what he just said…

"Morning Als. You okay?" He replies with a smile, and I just nod in return. "Good."

It then suddenly goes a little awkward, which hasn't happened between us since the first day we met, and I didn't like it at all.

"I'm gonna take a shower." I said to break the silence, before getting out of the bed. It took me a second to get my balance, as my legs were still extremely weak, before I slowly walked over to the dresser and took out some clothes.

I walked through to their bathroom and did my morning routine like usual, showering and putting on my red and white striped long-sleeve t-shirt, which had holes cut so my shoulders were exposed, with my pale blue skinny jeans and red converse.

I walked back into Austin's room, to see him still in his bed on his phone. I walked over and sat in front of the mirror, and straightened my hair and left it down, before putting on some light make up to slightly hide some of the bruises. A few times during this I looked up in the mirror to where Austin was still sat in bed and caught him looking at me too, but as soon as we made eye contact he would blush and look back at his phone, which made me smile.

When I was done I put everything away and stood up, turning to face Austin. "Umm… Austin?" I said.

"Yeah?" He replied, looking up and smiling at me.

"Are you, you know, gonna get up at all today?" I tease, raising my eyebrows at him.

He blushes again. "Uhh, r-right, yeah, of course, I'm just messaging Dez quickly." He said in a panic. Why was he so flustered? "You look really beautiful today, by the way." He adds, making me blush even more than him. "Like always." He finishes with a wink, and I smile sheepishly as I continue to blush like crazy.

"Uhh thanks." I reply quietly.

We slip back into silence, although thankfully this one isn't quite so awkward, as I pick up my phone and sit next to him on the bed, turning on MyTewb and scrolling through the latest videos. A couple of minutes later Austin said he was going to go shower and he got up and left the room whilst I was watching the latest music video of my favourite artist.

Just as the song finished I looked up as Austin walked back into the room, dressed in blue skinny jeans and a white Hollister t-shirt which really showed off his arm muscles. We made eye contact and exchanged soft smiles before I looked back down at my phone and he put away his pyjamas.

We walked downstairs together and had breakfast alone, as his parents were both out already, before going back up to his room.

"Okay, Ally, I know we both hate having to talk about this, but we need to." He began, and I knew he was right. "I really think we need to go to the police. We need to get help."

I looked down at my hands and took a deep breath. "Okay. I think you're right." I say. I see one of his hands grab onto mine, and feel the other lifting up my head to look at him.

"Als, you're being so brave about this, I'm so proud of you. And like I've said before, I'm going to be right beside you through it all." He smiled, which I returned, squeezing the hand that was joined to mine. "You want to go now and just get it over?"

I really didn't, and just the thought of it was making me sick with nerves, but at the same time I knew that if I didn't do it now I never would. "Yeah." I said really quietly, nodding. "Might as well."

We walked out to his car and got in, driving slowly to the nearest police office. He continued to hold my hand the entire drive, rubbing small circles on the back of it with his thumb. It's amazing how much this helped to keep me calm.

We walked in and he led me over to the front desk, where a kind-looking policewoman was sat typing at a computer. "Hi there, how can I help you?" She asked sweetly. I could tell she was looking at the bruises which were still visible on my face.

Austin looked down at me and, without having to speak, we both knew that I wanted Austin to speak for now as I wasn't ready.

"We're here to report an incident of domestic abuse." He spoke gently yet firmly, sounding almost businessman-like.

"Okay, you two are siblings I'm guessing?" The policewoman continued as she opened a drawer in her desk and started to pull out some papers and clipboards.

I finally managed to speak, although my voice came out wobbly and nervous. "What? No, this is just my friend. I'm the one who, uh…" But that's all I could manage to say, and Austin took over.

"She's been beaten by her Dad. I'm just here to support her since she's feeling a bit worried about it all." He explained, and I could see the look of sympathy flooding the policewoman's face.

"Oh, I understand. Well thank you for coming with her, this is clearly a very difficult time. For now, why don't you both go and take a seat on those chairs over there-'' She pointed to a few blue chairs in a waiting-room style layout in one corner of the room. "-and fill out this form for me. Just bring it back when you're done, okay?" She said sweetly, handing me a clipboard with some papers attached. I nodded and Austin thanked her, before we turned and walked over to the seats.

I shakily picked up the pen which was with the clipboard and started to fill in the details of what has happened.

About half an hour later I was finished, and we walked back over to the kind policewoman at the desk and handed her back the clipboard with the completed papers and pen.

"Thank you, dear." She said. "Now if you would both please take a seat again and in a few minutes we will call you in for a short interview, okay?"

This instantly made my stomach do somersaults, but then I felt a small squeeze from Austin's hand against my own, and I felt a small amount of confidence enter my body. "O-okay." I responded nervously, and we walked back over and sat back down.

Around 20 minutes later a male officer walked out of a back room into the main office area and called me through. I instantly began to panic again. "Ca-can Austin please stay with me?" I ask delicately, clinging onto Austin's arm like my life depended on it.

"If that will make you feel more comfortable and confident, then yes. We need to interview him too, so we can simply ask you both at the same time. Follow me please." He replied.

We stood up and followed him into the back room he had come out of just before. The room had off-white walls which were in need of a repaint and light was only coming in through one small window high up on one of the walls. There was a single table with two chairs on either side, one of which was already occupied by another male officer.

"Hello Allyson, and I am assuming you are Austin." The officer greeted us. "Please, both of you take a seat." He continued, indicating to the two chairs opposite him. The officer who guided us in took the seat next to his colleague as me and Austin sat on the other side of the table. "So, Allyson, firstly we would like to thank you for coming here and drawing this matter to our attention. We understand it is a very difficult thing to do which requires a lot of courage. We would also like to thank you, Austin, for being here to support Allyson through this time, she will definitely be needing it. My name is Officer Davis."

The other officer then took over. "And my name is Officer Henry. We are going to be leading the investigation into this case."

"So, Allyson, you have stated here that you have been receiving physical and verbal abuse from your father for the duration of one week, yes?" Officer Davis spoke as he read over the documents I had recently filled out, which were sat in front of him on the table.

"Yes, that's correct." I replied nervously.

"Okay, so first of all, do you have any form of evidence of this?" He continued.

"Well, a-as you can see I have bruises on my face, although they are worse than you can see them here as I have some make-up on. I also have heavier bruises and some cuts on my arms, stomach and legs." I reply as confidently as I can.

"Right. May we… may we see these bruises?" Officer Davis continued.

I slowly stood up and rolled up the sleeves of my t-shirt, revealing the bruises and cuts on my arms, like I had done for Austin yesterday. I then proceeded to roll up my skinny jeans legs as far as I could, to around about my knees, showing my leg bruises. I then lifted the hem of my top, displaying my battered stomach. Throughout the duration of this, I heard a few quiet gasps from the officers as the extent of my injuries was revealed.

"I-I see, thank you." Officer Henry commented, as I started to roll my sleeves and jeans legs back down. "Ha-have you received any medical treatment for these injuries?"

"No, I haven't… Austin is the only person who knows about any of this." I say. "I was too scared to go to hospital because I knew they would inform my Dad and then he'd just get worse."

"Yes, of course, that makes sense." Officer Henry replied. "Well, what we recommend is that after this interview you _do_ go to the hospital, and we shall refer you with a special notice informing the hospital staff not to contact your father for police reasons."

I nodded. "Is there any other form of evidence we can go off?" Officer Davis asked.

"W-well if you go to my house you will see some blood stains on the floor in some areas, and most likely lots of alcohol around the place which will be from my father's drinking." I explain as Officer Davis made some notes on what I was saying. "A-also yesterday Austin was a witness to him attempting more violence but was able to intervene and protect me." I said smiling softly at Austin, who returned the smile.

"Ah, yes, Austin." Officer Henry said, switching his attention to the blonde sat next to me. "So you are Allyson's friend, and the only other person who knows about the abuse; and Allyson is currently living with you for safety, correct?"

"Yes, that's right." Austin replied. "My parents also know the very basic reason why Ally is staying with us for her safety, but no specific details."

"Understood. Well, I must say, Allyson here is very lucky to have you as a friend, you have done absolutely the right thing by stepping in and removing her from the danger." Austin beamed at this, clearly proud of himself for doing the right thing, and I was proud of him too. "For now we advise that Allyson continues to live with you and your family until we can locate someone to look after her, as you also mention in your report, Allyson, that your mother has gone missing. What do you mean by that?" He continues, now turning back to face me.

I start to choke up a little at the mention of my Mom, as I am so worried about her, but then I realise that she needs me to be strong for her right now so we have the best chance of finding her. I clear my throat and continue. "Well, after the abuse started on that Friday night I have only seen her once, the next day, and she also had a few bruises on her arms and neck, and I haven't seen any sign of her at all since then. I tried to look for her one day, but my Dad caught me and that was the end of that." I explain.

"Right." Officer Davis comments as he continues to right notes down in his notebook. "Well, here is what will happen now. Allyson, you should remain with Austin and his family at their house for now, and we also recommend that you have somebody with you at all times and do _not_ try to go back to your old house. Also, like mentioned earlier, we advise you go to hospital to check on your injuries with special dispensation from us meaning your father will not be contacted."

Officer Henry then took over. "Meanwhile, we shall put together a team and go to investigate the house in search of your father, who shall be taken into custody, and your missing mother, who will be assessed on the scene. If they are not found on the premises we shall begin a search of the surrounding area. Of course, you and the Moon family will be regularly updated on progress, but in the meantime try to continue a normal lifestyle, though this may be difficult for a while. We would like for you to go into school, however if you do not feel up to this you do not have to, and the school will be informed of the reason for your absence."

Officer Davis then spoke again. "Obviously we will handle this case with strict anonymity and secrecy, and the details of what has happened will not be given to anyone except for when absolutely necessary, for instance the school headmaster who will be informed of the reason for any absences. How you choose to personally handle the case is up to you, but we recommend not making the situation very publicly known, only telling your closest friends whom you can trust, such as Austin."

"That is all for now." Officer Henry said. "You two can leave and go about your normal business, but Allyson here is your special dispensation for the hospital staff should you choose to go to hospital." He continued handing me a plain white envelope. "Simply hand this in at the front desk upon your arrival and they will handle the rest."

"Thank you for everything, officers." I said as Austin and I stood up.

"One more thing." Officer Davis added. "If either of you see Lester Dawson anywhere, do _not_ engage him. Leave the area and contact the police immediately. Understood?" We both nodded. "Excellent. Goodbye."

And with that Officer Henry led us outside and said goodbye to us.

As we walked out of the police station I felt a huge wave of relief wash over me, like a huge weight had been lifted from me. I let out a huge sigh of content and Austin chuckled slightly, before turning to face me.

"Now what?" He asked.

. . . . .

 **That's the end of chapter sixteen!**

 **So Austin has, unknowingly, admitted his feelings to Ally! And the Lester Dawson case is now in the hands of the police, so everything is looking up for them.**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite and review!**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story! I hope you're enjoying it so far.**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Seventeen: Running**

 _Austin's POV_

I am so proud of Ally. It was clear how nervous and scared she was about going to the police to get help with the whole situation, but she handled it absolutely brilliantly. Of course it's still all far from over. Lester is still on the loose and there are still no clues as to where Ally's Mom could be. But at least now we're over the worst of it, and we're definitely on the right track to it being finished forever.

When we left the police station I managed to convince Ally that she really should go to the hospital to get her injuries checked out, especially now that the officers have made sure that there'll be no way of her Dad finding out.

The hospital is on the other side of Miami, so we get back into my car and start to head in that direction.

"Austin, do you think I should tell Trish?" Ally asks me a couple of minutes into the drive.

"That's entirely up to you, Als." I reply. "They said to only tell people you're sure you can trust… I'm pretty sure you can trust Trish, right?"

"Yeah, I think so…" She replies, a little hesitantly.

"My honest opinion is that if you're not 100% sure you're happy to tell her, then don't. But, at the same time, I know that if this was the other way round then you'd want to be told that your best friend had been through this. I've been in her situation Als, and trust me, we just want to be there for you."

There are a few seconds of silence as Ally thinks about what I've just said. Finally, she gives her answer. "Okay. I'm gonna tell her."

I smile, she's handling the situation really well, and I think telling Trish is definitely the right idea. "Good, I think you're doing the right thing Ally." She smiles back at me. "So, when are you going to tell her?"

"Well, might as well do it right now." Ally replies. "Trish's house is on the way to the hospital anyway, so maybe we could stop by?" I nod to let her know that's fine with me. "I'll send her a text to let her know we're going to drop in on her." And with that she pulls out her phone and starts typing away.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

About twenty minutes later we arrive at Trish's house. The nerves start to return to me again, until I force myself to realise that I have nothing to be afraid of – Trish is one of my best friends, and honestly what could possibly go wrong from this?

"You ready?" Austin asks as we get out of the car and walk up the pathway to Trish's front door.

"As I'll ever be." I reply, before reaching up and knocking lightly on the solid wooden door.

A few seconds later it opens, revealing Trish dressed in her usual vibrant, animal print style. "Hey hey girl!" She says enthusiastically as she pulls me in for a hug and invites Austin and I inside. "Let's go into the living room, we can talk there. Do you guys want anything to drink or anything?"

We both decline her offer and simply follow her through to her living room and take a seat next to each other on one of the couches.

"So, Ally, what did you want to talk about?" Trish asks as she takes a seat on the other couch, across from us.

The nerves hit me again like a brick wall, and I look up to Austin, who gives me a small smile and a nod as encouragement, which seems to do the trick.

"Trish I have something really important to tell you." I begin timidly.

Her facial expression goes from semi-excited and happy to deadly serious in the blink of an eye. "What is it?"

"W-well…" I don't know how to say it to her. "Last week, when I wasn't in school, it wasn't because I was ill." I begin, looking up from my hands at her. She doesn't say anything, just gives me a look that tells me she's listening and that I can carry on. "It's… I wasn't in because…" I trail off again, but force myself to just say it and get it out there. "I was being abused by my Dad."

Trish's mouth flies open and her eyes widen to the size of tennis balls. "What?" She barely whispers.

I just look back down and nod.

"Oh my God Ally!" Trish says sadly as she rushes over and engulfs me in a hug. "What happened?"

"I don't even know." I say as I start to choke up. Austin grabs my hand again. "I just came home from work one night and next thing I know I'm on the floor in pain, and then that became my life for the whole week, until I managed to get into school yesterday." I say, trying to remain calm and composed.

"Please tell me you've gone to the police about this." Trish says seriously, looking between me and Austin frantically.

"Yes, we've just come from there actually, and we're on our way to the hospital to check on her… injuries." Austin answers.

"Injuries?" Trish asks?

Rather than saying anything, I do the same as I did at the police station and roll up the legs of my arms and jeans and lift up the bottom of my shirt, and also much like the police officers Trish gasps when she sees all the bruises and cuts.

"Oh my God," Trish gasps. "I can't believe Lester did this! He was always so kind…" Trish mutters in disbelief.

"I know, neither can I. I always thought he was the perfect father…" I say, feeling the tears coming again, but this time I am determined not to let them fall. "But that doesn't matter now. He's shown the world who he really is." I finish, smiling bitterly.

"Yeah…" Trish says, still at a bit of a loss for words.

"But there's one more thing." I say. "My Mom's missing, I haven't seen her since the abuse started, but the police know that too so they're searching for her as well." I explain, and Trish starts to tear up at this – she'd always thought of my Mom as her second mother, and I'm the same with Mrs de la Rosa (Trish's Mom).

"Oh poor Penny." Trish whispers. "I hope nothing bad's happened to her."

"So do I," I added. "But hoping is all we _can_ do for now." I say sadly.

"Ally, you're being so strong about this. And me and Austin are here to help you through this okay?" Trish says, pulling me for another hug. "Does anyone else know?"

"No, nobody." I reply. "Please don't tell anyone, I really don't want this to be the latest school gossip."

"Of course Ally! Thank you for telling me. Are you going to tell Dez or any of the girls?" She responds.

"I don't know… probably not the girls, least of all Brooke. That bitch is the last person who needs to know." I say bitterly, as if it pained me to say her name… which it kind of did, honestly. "I haven't decided about Dez yet. I might tell him on Monday, but I need to think about it."

Trish and Austin nod. Austin continues to rub my hand. "So that was pretty much it." He says to Trish. "But Ally is safe now, she's living with me and my family for the time being, and the police are taking care of catching Lester and finding Penny."

"So I guess now we wait." Trish says, and we all nod. "Well, thanks again for telling me and keep me updated, okay?" She continues, giving Austin and I each a hug as we walk back to her front door.

"We will. See you on Monday." I say as I walk out the door.

"And Austin, thanks for taking care of Ally. You're doing a great job, I know you won't let her get harmed again." I faintly hear her talking to Austin as I walk down the path, before turning to see Austin just leaving the house with the door closing behind him.

"You okay?" He asks with a smile as he reaches me and I turn and walk with him again.

"Mm-hmm." I hum with a smile.

We get back into his car and drive off towards the hospital.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

Three hours later, we're leaving Miami General Hospital, having got all Ally's injuries checked out. Luckily, nothing was majorly damaged or broken, however she does have several bruised ribs, a couple of fractured bones in her right arm that will heal by themselves, and bruised shin bones. She didn't need any casts or slings, but was strongly advised to just take it easy for a while, with no sports and minimal long-distance walking.

She received an official medical notice that means she can sit out on all sports lessons as she is still going to be attending school, and was then discharged and told to return in a few weeks to check up.

Ally and I spent the rest of the day at my house, mostly sat in the back garden, just hanging out and talking.

Every minute I spend with her I fall for her more, and more, and more. I know that I have to ask her out soon, but I need to think of the right way and wait until the right moment. Ideally, I don't want to do it until the current situation is all sorted out, but I have no idea as to how long that will be and I'm afraid that the longer I wait, the less chance I have of her saying yes.

At the moment I have absolutely no idea of her feelings towards me. She definitely seems to be at ease with me, which is a good sign, and I think I have some sort of calming effect on her, and ever since she told me about what has happened to her she seems to be even closer to me… I don't know, are these signs that she feels the same way?

This afternoon that I spend with Ally is one of the happiest I've had for a long time, just because I get to relax and have a bit of fun with her, and before I know it my parents are home, seemingly getting along very well today.

"Hey Mom, hey Dad." I say as Ally and I walk back into the house through the back door.

"Hi sweetie, how was your day?" Mom asked as she and Dad were putting their work stuff away.

"Good, Ally and I went to the police this morning and they're handling everything." I said, before Mom ran over and gave both me and Ally a hug.

"Oh that's fantastic, I'm so proud of you two for getting the courage to do that." She says excitedly.

"I agree." Dad adds as he walks into the kitchen, where we all are. "And I think this calls for a celebration! I say we all go out for dinner tonight."

"Yes! Definitely!" Mom says, turning to look at Ally and I for our response. We turn to each other and just shrug our shoulders and nod.

"Sure." We both say.

"Perfect, well then we'll leave in about half an hour, why don't you two go and get ready?" Dad says to Ally and I. "We'll go out to 'Le Gusta'." Le Gusta is our favourite Italian restaurant – the food is amazing, and it's not too fancy or too cheap.

"Cool." I say as I lead Ally upstairs to my room.

"So what should I wear?" Ally asks me as I shut the bedroom door.

"It doesn't have to be anything too fancy. Maybe just like a simple dress?" I suggest. "Don't worry too much though, Als. You look gorgeous in everything." I add with a wink, and am pleased when I see her blush – she looks cute when she blushes.

"Okay, I'll just go and get changed, then." She says as she grabs some clothes out of the bottom drawer of the dresser and leaves the room and goes to the bathroom.

While she's gone, I change into my smarter black slim jeans with a dark green, red and yellow tartan-style shirt, rolling the sleevs up. I quickly put on some aftershave and freshen up my hair. Just as I'm finishing, Ally walks back into the room, taking my breath away.

She looks stunning in a flowing long-sleeved white lace dress which comes to her mid-thigh with white flats. She's left her hair straightened but had put on a little more makeup to completely cover the bruises on her face, and some on her legs to hide the bruises there.

"Wow." I just say quietly, and she blushes a little again. After about ten seconds I manage to pull myself together and clear my throat. "Y-you ready to go?" I ask, walking towards her and offering her my arm, which she takes with a smile.

"Yeah, I am." She replies softly and with that we leave my room and walk downstairs to meet my parents in the living room.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

Our dinner at 'Le Gusta' was wonderful. Austin wasn't lying when he said the food there was incredible, it really was the best Italian I've ever had!

The atmosphere was nice to, and Mike and Mimi were very talkative and made plenty of conversation with all of us, without asking me too many details about my personal life, which I was thankful for. I'm also glad they haven't been those kind of parents who are convinced that Austin and I are a couple just because we're friends and never drop the subject – they seem to have just understood the relationship between us. Or, if they are convinced we're a couple, at least they don't act that way in front of us.

Our waiter was pretty cute too, though. Not Austin levels of cute, but he was definitely good-looking. Plus, he kept on flirting with me, winking at me and calling me 'the pretty lady', which made me blush several times, and every time he did this I felt Austin, who was sat next to me, tense up just a little.

He tried to ask me for my number at one point, just before we left, but Austin intervened by grabbing my hand and gently pulling me out of the restaurant before I could reply, making me giggle and blush a little. I wouldn't have given the guy my number anyway, but it was adorable how Austin reacted. He really does like me, and that thought alone makes my heart beat that little bit faster.

It's now Sunday afternoon, and last night Austin slept on the floor, like he said he would, and I was feeling much happier so was able to sleep alone.

We spent this morning lounging around and relaxing, we didn't really get up properly until about 11am, as we'd spent most of the morning watching TV whilst eating breakfast sat in Austin's bed together, which was nice… and I may or may not have found myself cuddling into Austin's side with has arm resting around my shoulder.

So anyway, in the afternoon Austin came up with an idea: music is always, to us at least, a great way to send a message and help people, so he decided that we could together write a song about domestic violence and put it online, to help raise awareness. Obviously I instantly agreed, as long as it was never made clear that it was about me.

We spent most of the afternoon working on the song, and by the early evening we were ready to record it. We created a MyTewb account for Austin so that we could post the video and thought about how we were going to film it.

We'd already recorded the audio for the song, so we just needed a video to go with it. In the end, we decided to just have visuals of Austin singing along to the song, dancing a little here and there.

At exactly 10:30pm we posted the finished music video onto MyTewb and sat back, admiring our creation.

 **(Link to this song: watch?v=QzfRDZmuFUI)**

 _Silent cries_

 _Every night_

 _This Pain don't ever leave her life_

 _Daddy's home_

 _So she tries to hide_

 _She calls for Mom_

 _But never a reply_

 _._

 _She cries, cries, cries_

 _She's all alone_

 _Daddy why, why, why?_

 _Leave me alone_

 _She calls for help_

 _She calls for help_

 _But no one seems to care_

 _She calls for help but no one seems to care_

 _._

 _She keeps on running, running, running_

 _From this crazy life_

 _She keeps on running, running, running_

 _Never sees the light_

 _I can see the angels standing by your side,_

 _It'll be alright_

 _._

 _She's back again_

 _Just one more time_

 _Just wants to see her mother smile_

 _She can't forget_

 _Her only child_

 _Mama let the devil in her house_

 _._

 _She cries, cries, cries_

 _She's all alone_

 _Daddy why, why, why?_

 _Leave me alone_

 _She calls for help_

 _She calls for help_

 _But no one seems to care_

 _She calls for help but no one seems to care_

 _._

 _She keeps on running, running, running_

 _From this crazy life_

 _She keeps on running, running, running_

 _Never sees the light_

 _I can see the angels standing by your side,_

 _It'll be alright, yeah_

 _She keeps on running, running, running_

 _From this crazy life (crazy life)_

 _She keeps on running, running, running_

 _Never sees the light (sees the light)_

 _I can see the angels standing by your side,_

 _It'll be alright (It'll be alright)_

 _._

 _She cries, cries, cries_

 _Daddy why, why, why?_

 _She keeps on running, running, running_

 _From this crazy life_

 _Keeps on running, running, running_

 _Oh oh ohhhh,_

 _It'll be alright_

 **(Song: Running by Kállay-Saunders: Eurovision 2014 – Hungary)**

All that work had made us really tired, so we decided to just go straight to bed. He again went on the floor, and that night I slept like a log, content that I had played a part in helping to bring awareness to the topic, and hopefully therefore preventing someone else from having to go through what I did.

I just hope it works and people take notice.

. . . . .

 **Seventeen chapters done!**

 **So not much really happened in this chapter, it was more of a filler… sorry about that!**

 **On the bright side, Austin and Ally's relationship appears to be getting stronger! How long will Austin wait before asking that all important question?**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite and review!**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story! I hope you're enjoying it so far.**

 **Oh btw to "somberfilledwithsullen"... thank you so much for the awesome suggestion, I'll try my best to work it into the story. I've already pre-written the end of this first story, but maybe I'll be able to get it into the beginning of the next one in the series (which I will be starting to write next week!)**

 **This chapter is up a few days early because I will not be able to update on Monday since I will be away, so you're getting it now instead :) Normal monday chapters will continue from monday 31st :)**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Eighteen: Secrets and Slaps**

 _Ally's POV_

I woke up to the ever-annoying sound of the alarm on my phone, reminding me that today is Monday, and therefore I kinda have to go into school… where anything could happen. I mean, I've only told Austin and Trish and I trust them completely, but at Marino High it's ridiculous how quickly and easily rumours spread – Austin's learnt that the hard way – so I'm still a little on edge.

I shut off the alarm, my mind going crazy from the horrific sound, and look over to see Austin still fast asleep under his blanket on the floor. I guess he's a bit of a heavy sleeper. But he's also cute when he's asleep… _very_ cute.

After a couple of minutes I snap out of my Austin-sleeping-induced trance and swing my legs over the edge of the bed, before forcing myself to stand up. I gently walk over to him and kneel down next to his sleeping body. "Austin." I say quietly. No response. "Austin, it's time to wake up." I say, gently moving his shoulders and getting a low groan in response.

"Five more minutes…" Comes a muffled, sleepy-voiced reply, causing me to giggle slightly.

"No, Austin, we have to get up. We have school today." I say a little more timidly as the nerves kick back in.

Slowly Austin shifts around before sitting up and turning to face me. "Morning, Als." He says with a tired smile.

"Good morning." I reply softly. "Do you want to shower first or shall I?" I ask.

"No, you go ahead, I'm still waking up." He replies, making me giggle a little again as I nod in reply, before grabbing some clothes and heading into the bathroom.

I do my normal morning routine, today straightening my hair but then adding gentle curls at the ends, and put on enough make up to cover my facial bruises. It's meant to be a really hot day today, and I really want to wear just like a tank top and shorts, but I've still got a ton of bruises and scratches. I stick with some tight blue skinny jeans, and put on a grey baggy long-sleeve t-shirt, which covers my arm bruises but is still pretty light so I shouldn't get too hot. However, the top has a fairly low neck line, so I have to put on a bit more make up on my neck and the top of my chest to cover the bruises there. I finish the outfit off with some grey flats, before walking back out into the bedroom, where Austin is sat on his phone, a pile of clothes next to him ready.

"Hey Als, I'm just checking the figures for the video we posted last night." He said, referring to the new song we recorded.

"Oh yeah? How's it doing?" I asked as I put my pyjama stuff away.

"Not bad, a few thousand views and over 500 likes… good going for only overnight!" He says enthusiastically. "And listen to some of the comments… 'Austin is so talented', 'This song is amazing', 'Wow, this song and the message really hit home'… people love it, Als!"

"Wow, this is amazing Austin! I can't believe it!" I say running over and hugging him. "See, you're already one step closer to achieving your dream! People already love you!"

"Yeah, you're right…" Austin says dreamily, and from the glint in his eye I can tell he's imagining his future as a successful recording artist.

"Okay, well you go shower and I'll make us breakfast." I say, before walking out the room and downstairs into the kitchen.

I put in my headphones and turn on my music as I start dancing (terribly) around the kitchen and singing along as I make some pancakes, which I know are Austin's favourite.

Twenty minutes later and I've finished making a huge stack of pancakes for Austin and a slightly smaller stack for myself. I grab the plates off the counter and turn towards the table to place them down, only to let out a small shriek as I see Austin stood there, smirking at me. "Nice dance moves." Is all he says, smugly.

"Oh, you saw that?" I say, a little embarrassed as I walk over to him, handing him his plate piled high with pancakes.

"Yup." He replies, and I blush. "Aw no, don't worry Als, it was kinda cute." He says, which just causes me to blush even more.

We quickly eat our pancakes, making light small talk as we eat but mostly in comfortable silence. When we're done Austin collects our plates and puts them in the sink, and we both walk back upstairs to finish getting ready.

Ten minutes later and we were walking out the door and getting into Austin's car, before he drove us off towards school. I still couldn't escape the feeling that this day wouldn't go by completely smoothly.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

I pulled into the Marino High parking lot and parked in my usual space, thankful to see that the popular girls weren't anywhere in sight, for once.

As soon as I shut the engine off, I could pretty much _feel_ the nerves coming off Ally. I turned in my seat to see her staring straight ahead, a blank expression on her face, but breathing a little heavier than normal and gripping onto the central armrest pretty tightly.

"Hey, Als?" I said gently, putting my hand on top of hers. She instantly turned to face me, and I could see her facial features soften a little. "It's gonna be fine, okay? I promise, I'm gonna be right by your side for as long as I possibly can be today, alright? Nobody's going to bother you. You did it on Friday, so just be strong and let's do this, yeah?" I said encouragingly, and she replied with a gentle smile and nod.

We stepped out of the car and started walking towards the school, and I didn't miss the fact that Ally was walking much closer next to me than normal. Not that I'm complaining.

Of course, there were all the normal girls trying to catch my attention and flirt with me, but I was extra determined today to completely ignore them. Ally needed me today, and I wasn't going to let her down. We made it to the steps where we met Trish and Dez, as normal. Trish and I exchanged a knowing look, silently saying what needed to be said without speaking, as Dez was still oblivious to everything that had happened.

"Hey guys." I broke the silence before it was too long and therefore awkward.

"Hey Austin!" Dez replied enthusiastically, and we did our 'what-up' handshake. He then turned and gave Ally a small hug, the same way he always greets her. "Oh, Ally, why didn't you walk with Trish today?" He asked. Crap.

I saw Ally freeze up as she realised the same as me – we can't tell Dez she's living with me without him finding out everything. "Uh-'' She begins but it's clear she has nothing, so me and Trish look at each other with panicked expressions as we frantically come up with a cover-up.

"Ally was… was… was running late!" Trish says triumphantly, overdoing it slightly. She seemed to realise this, though, as she turned her head slightly, looking like she wanted to hit herself, which almost made me laugh.

"Y-yes, that's right, so she asked me to pick her up so she'd have more time, right Als?" I continue the story nervously, hoping he buys it.

"R-right, yeah that's it!" Ally finished, before we all chuckle nervously and put on way over-the-top smiles. To _anyone_ else it would be completely obvious that everything we just said was bull, but for once Dez's gullibility and general obliviousness worked in our favour as he seemed to buy it with a loud 'Okay!' and a smile to match ours.

Thankfully, before that situation could turn awkward, the bell rang. "Oh look at that what a shame let's go to homeroom come on Als." I said all in one rushed go before practically dragging Ally inside with me, Trish following just behind us

"Well _that_ was close." I said as we took our normal seats at the back of the room in homeroom.

"You can say that again. At least he seemed to buy it, though." Ally said, playing with a strand of her hair – at least she doesn't chew it when she's nervous anymore.

"Ally, I think you should tell him." Trish says. "Sure, he's stupid and oblivious and gullible, and we can just about get away with it like this, but he _is_ still your friend."

"I agree with Trish. He does kind of deserve to know. You can trust him, Als." I add, rubbing Ally's hand, which was resting on her desk, gently.

"I know." Ally said softly. "You guys are right, I should tell him. I'll do it at lunch today." She says, looking up at us for agreement, and we both nod.

We spend the rest of homeroom discussing our plan for the day. We all agree that Ally shouldn't be on her own if it can be avoided today, since she's still a little nervous and hasn't fully recovered from her ordeal. We figured out that either myself or Trish are in all of her lessons, and that one of us would walk with her too and from each one.

The girls had Spanish together first whilst I had French, so it was agreed that I would meet them outside their Spanish room to walk Ally to World History, which we shared second period.

This all passed without incident, and after World History we had our morning break. I walked with her to the cafeteria where we met Trish. They decided that they should probably spend that break time with the other girls, as they hadn't done so for a week or so.

Me and Dez sat at our normal table that break, but I kept looking over at the girls' table to make sure Ally was okay. She wasn't really say anything, more just staring at her hands, which were resting together on the table. Brooke was sat on the same table, and I noticed her giving Ally dirty looks for the entire time – she better not start any more drama, she's done enough harm to Ally and I recently.

Third period was mine and Ally's shared free period, so at the end of the break I waited until Brooke was gone, just to be sure, before walking over to her.

We spent our free period, walking around outside enjoying the Sun, much as we had those first couple of days after we met. I love this time with Ally most of all, when we can just be carefree and be ourselves, laughing and joking with each other as we relaxed. I have _so_ badly fallen for her, I just don't know how or when to tell her. I just know that I need to do it soon.

After our free we walk to Chemistry, and once again complete the experiment perfectly, joking with each other and laughing amongst ourselves the whole time.

Finally it's lunch time, and therefore time for Dez to find out the truth about Ally's situation.

Dez and Trish are already at the table when we get there, and for once they're actually not arguing. "Hey guys." I use my standard greeting as Ally and I take our seats.

"So, Dez… I have something to tell you." Ally begins.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

Well, here goes nothing.

"So, Dez… I have something to tell you." I begin, nervously. "I wasn't ill last week, that's not why I missed school." I say, looking at Austin who offers me a small smile as reassurance and encouragement. "The reason I haven't been in is because I was being abused, by my Dad." I say, as there is a huge gasp from Dez as his hand flies up to cover his mouth, sympathy in his eyes.

"Are you being serious?" He says eventually.

I just look down and nod. "Unfortunately, yes. I am."

"So Ally's living with me right now whilst the police sort out the case, because her Mom's also currently… missing," Austin explains. "Which is also why Ally was with me when we got here this morning."

"Ohhh, that makes more sense." Dez says, smiling.

"So, yeah, I just thought you should know. Obviously, Austin and Trish already know, but they're the only other people. Please don't tell anyone else, okay? It's a huge secret." I say, looking him dead in the eyes.

"Of course Ally, I won't say a word. Thanks for telling me." He replies, with nothing but sincerity and truth in his voice.

Dez may sometimes be an idiot, and not exactly intelligent, and crazy, and weird, and gullible, and… well, you get the picture – but times like this make me realise that despite all these things he is still an amazing, trustworthy and caring friend. I'm so lucky to have these three with me to help me through this. It's definitely such a huge relief that all my friends know everything and can be here for me.

"Thanks Dez." I say, standing up and walking round the table to hug him, but I can tell he is hesitant to hug me back. I giggle. "It's okay, Dez, you can hug me – I'm not fragile enough to be broken by that. I've got through all this, haven't I?" I joke, trying to lighten the mood a little, and it seems to work as he hugs me back and chuckles a little.

We spend the rest of lunch like we usually do, just talking and laughing and telling stories. It's nice, relaxed and lets me take my mind off everything. It helps that I have Austin right next to me, he's amazing. I always catch him looking over at me frequently, checking to make sure I'm okay – it's so cute!

I definitely think I like him now. Maybe I should—

My thoughts are interrupted by the shrill ringing of the bell, so Austin and I say goodbye to Trish and Dez before heading off to English Literature.

After English, I have my second free period of the day, but Austin has a lesson so I'll be on my own, which is honestly kind of a relief. Don't get me wrong – Austin's amazing and I love how caring he's being, spending every possible second with me so I'm not alone – but I think it will be nice to have just a little bit of time alone, as I haven't really had much of that recently.

Surprise, surprise, I spend the free period outside walking on the grass, as per usual. There's a pleasant silence, as I stroll slowly around, enjoying the gentle breeze and the quiet rustling of the trees and the melodic tweeting and singing of the birds.

I hum random melodies as I continue to walk, as I often do when I'm not really thinking much. I find myself thinking of one melody that I just can't get out of my head – it's really catchy! I walk over to a tree, take out my songbook and a pen and lean against it, quickly scribbling down the notes of the melody so I can remember it for later.

I put my songbook and pen back away in my bag and pull out my phone to check the time. Realising the period's about to end, which would mean the start of afternoon break, I turn around to walk back towards the school building to meet my friends.

However, when I turn around, _she's_ standing there.

Brooke.

I forgot she also had this period free.

The laser eyes she's firing at me could melt ice, and I'm instantly incredibly nervous, wanting nothing else than for Austin to be here to protect me. "H-hi, Brooke." I say meekly, hoping to avoid making her mad in any way.

"'Sup _Dawson_?" She says mockingly. Uh-oh, here it goes. "Where were you last week?"

' _Why do you care?'_ I thought to myself but decided not to say that, instead going with "I was ill."

"Oh really?" Brooke says, not seeming to believe me. I nod quickly, feeling more and more scared and nervous by the second. "Aww, boo-hoo, poor little Dawson was a little sicky?" She says in a baby-like voice, making me feel even more pathetic than I already did. "Ha, serves you right."

"What?" I say quietly, confused as to why I deserve to have been ill.

"You didn't stay away from Austin, like I asked you to, so karma came around and made you ill." Brooke reasons pathetically. I wondered how long it would be before she brought Austin up.

"Wha-what do you mean? I-I have been staying away as much as I can!" I lie, if only she knew how untrue that really was.

"Oh don't bullshit me, Dawson." Brooke immediately counters, taking a threatening step closer to me, as I take an equal step backwards. The break has started now and a few people are walking around outside, and I desperately scan the crowd hoping that one of those people is Austin and that he'll come to my rescue. But no such luck. They're probably all inside, wondering where I am.

"Wh-what do you mean?" I ask, trying to buy myself some time in the hope that Austin will come looking for me.

"Ha, you're pathetic." Brooke continues. "This morning, Dawson, you arrived at school in Austin's car, did you not?"

I hesitantly nod. Crap. She's got me here.

"So tell me, Dawson… how is _that_ , getting rides from Austin into school, staying away from him!?" She asks, getting a little louder and continuing to step closer to me.

"I… I, uh, I-'' I'm cut off by Brooke's maniacal laugh.

"Oh, you're so _pathetic_ , Dawson." She says, smirking at me. "Do you _seriously_ still think you have a chance with him?"

"Brooke, I don't like Austin, he just gave me a lift to school!" I say defensively, trying to pull together every inch of confidence I still have in me.

"Don't _lie_ to me!" Brooke says menacingly. "I know your game, Dawson. You play the innocent, cute card and lure him in, just to take him away from me because you think your life is so pathetic that he'll give you sympathy!" She rants. "Well let me tell you something, Dawson. Your life is _definitely_ pathetic, but I know you're _far_ from innocent." She says lowering her voice.

My back is now against the tree as I have been stepping away from her as she has continued advancing towards me, so now there is no escape for me. I'm praying for Austin to turn up right now, I don't know how long I can last.

"Brooke, please," I say, feeling the tears start to creep in as I get more and more panicked at the situation. "I don't like Austin, you can have him!" I say desperately.

She laughs again. "See what I mean Dawson? You're pathetic! As if Austin would ever like you. I pity you. You honestly think that there could ever possible be the slightest chance that he could like you, but you're delusional. Look at yourself, you're a tiny _stick insect_ with no life or friends… then look at me! I'm hot, popular, and I _always_ get my way, Dawson. You get that?" She hisses in my face.

Suddenly, I see Austin walk out of the school doors behind Brooke. I can tell he's spotted us as he starts running in our direction, but it's a long way. Nevertheless, just seeing him gives me one more final burst of confidence. "Well it's _Austin_ who's choosing to spend time with me over you, so just leave me alone and let him decide what he wants, Brooke!" I say, before instantly transforming back into my quivering, scared and nervous self.

"YOU LITTLE _BITCH_!" Brooke yells in my face. "I _TOLD_ YOU TO _STAY AWAY_ FROM HIM!"

And then she does it.

She slaps me.

Hard.

And that one slap doesn't even hurt that much, but what does hurt is the way it instantly transports me back to that first slap I got from my Dad that Friday night. Every single slap and kick I've ever received instantly floods over my body, and I feel nothing but overwhelming pain from all of them crushing down on me in one huge wave.

I'm having flashbacks to being curled up on the floor of my bedroom, watching the ever-growing pool of blood next to me, crying and begging my Dad to stop as I see the terrifying fire in his eyes.

All these flashbacks and emotions are surging around my body, and I'm barely aware of what's happening around me in the real world, all I know is that there is someone blonde standing slightly in front of me, shouting at some brunette girl in front of us. I'm also hyperventilating and I can feel streams of tears pouring down my face, and I know I'm having a panic attack but there's nothing I can do about it.

For a few seconds everything becomes clear again, and I just see and hear Brooke backing away from us, saying "I'll get you for this Ally, you know you haven't seen the last of Brooke!"

And then everything goes black.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

It's the start of afternoon break, and I've met with Trish and Dez in our usual place. After a couple of minutes, Ally hasn't turned up. I know it's probably nothing, but I'm starting to get just a little worried. Where is she.

I can tell Trish and Dez are thinking the same thing. "Okay, you two stay here, I'll go and look outside, okay?" I say to them and they both nod in agreement.

I quickly walk out the doors and look over towards the grass, where I know Ally is most likely to be. I gasp when I see her backed up against a tree, with Brooke standing mere inches in front of her, and judging by Ally's expression the conversation isn't exactly a friendly one.

I instantly take off, sprinting towards them, desperate to get there before Brooke can say or do anything to harm Ally. I'm just a few metres away when I see what I've been dreading most – Brooke draws back her hand and slaps Ally across the face, a loud smacking sound resounding through the area.

A second later and I'm there, swinging around to stand in front of Ally before Brooke can do anything else to her. "BROOKE! WHAT THE HELL!" I shout at her dumb, sweetly smiling face which makes me want to be sick at this moment.

"Oh hey Austy." She says flirtatiously.

"No, bitch, don't 'hey Austy' me!" I reply sternly, and I can tell from her face she's shocked at my tone. "What the hell do you think you're doing slapping Ally?"

"And why the hell are you defending the slut?" She retaliates. It takes all my self-control not to slap her right then and there like she did to Ally.

"Don't you _dare_ call Ally a slut, have you _looked_ in the mirror recently?" I counter, narrowing my eyes at her and using my best disgusted voice.

She gasps. "What is wrong with you, Austin? What do you possibly see in _her_?" She replies, matching my disgusted tone. "She's just a short, pathetic dork! You're really going to defend _that_ when you could have any girl in the school, including a hot one like me who worships you?" She says loudly, in disbelief.

"Well to you she may be those things, but to me Ally is a beautiful, intelligent, kind and caring person. You may _think_ that you look better than her… newsflash, you really don't… but either way her personality is something that you could _never_ match, and if you honestly think that I would rather spend ten seconds alone with you than her than you're even more delusional than I thought."

I then freeze up slightly as I have kind of just admitted that I like Ally, but as I quickly glance behind me, I see that she is in a bit of a daze… I put money on it she's having some horrific flashback and doesn't know what's going on around her. I see her snap out of it, though, just as I turn back around to see Brooke with a face that looks like she's about ready to murder someone.

"I'll get you for this Ally, you know you haven't seen the last of Brooke!" She says threateningly as she slowly backs away from us, before turning and strutting back towards the main school building. _'Ha!'_ I think to myself. _'Not on my watch you won't.'_

. . . . .

 **There's chapter eighteen! I hope you guys enjoyed it :)**

 **Again, a bit of a filler chapter, BUT we do know that Brooke is still very much on the scene, and definitely not letting up on Ally. But will she listen to Austin and realise that she doesn't have a chance or keep trying again and again?**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite and review!**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey everyone, welcome back to the story! I hope you're enjoying it so far.**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Nineteen: Fight Song**

 _Ally's POV_

I wake up in a fairly bright room with a slight headache and a small amount of pain on my cheek. I sit up and look around the room, which I quickly recognise as the school nurse's office. I can also feel someone's hand holding mine, and look over at it to see the person on the other end smiling brightly at me.

"Hey Als, glad you're awake." He says.

"A-Austin?" I stutter. "W-what happened?" I ask, confused.

"Well after Brooke slapped you, you started having a panic attack and fainted." He explains gently, and I nod as the memories come back to me.

"Sh-she said she'd get me back…" I mumble quietly, but Austin hears me.

"Don't worry Als, I won't let her hurt you. I promise." He replies, standing up out of the plastic chair he was sat on and hugs me.

"I-I know you will." I reply with a smile as we pull away. "How long was I out?"

"Not too long. It's half way through seventh period now." He replies, sitting back down in the chair as I swing my legs around so I'm sitting on the edge of the bed, facing him.

I nod in understanding before my eyes widen. "Wait! I'm missing Calculus! No, I can't, I'm gonna fall behind and then I'll fail the next test which means I'll fail my end of term major which will go on my permanent record and I'll never get into MUNY Austin what am I going to do!?" I say all in one breath.

Austin laughs and grabs my hand again. "Easy, Ally, calm down." He says still chuckling slightly. "Don't worry, your teacher knows what's happening and Trish is getting the work for you at the end of the lesson." He explains.

"But what about you? Aren't you missing a lesson right now? Austin I don't want you to fail because of me!" I say, again speaking quickly as I panic, and Austin again chuckles.

"No, Als, I have another free period seventh, remember?" He reassures me and I nod sheepishly, a little embarrassed at forgetting and probably making myself look like an idiot in front of him.

"So do I get to go to Music eighth?" I ask hopefully, not wanting to miss out on my favourite lesson.

Austin smiles at me. "Yep, the nurse said you should stay here for the rest of seventh but, as long as you woke up, you'd be fine to go to eighth period."

I smile back at him. "Good. I'm guessing you're gonna stay here with me for the rest of seventh, right?" I ask in a way that comes across as semi-flirtatious, which was _not_ what I wanted to happen and I slap myself but try to keep cool on the outside.

He chuckles again… God I love it when he does that… and looks back up at me with a bright smile. "You know it, Als." He replies with a wink, making me blush.

It's confirmed. I've _definitely_ fallen for Austin Moon.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

Ally and I walk to the Music classroom for our final lesson of the day, having spent the rest of seventh just talking happily in the nurse's office. It's kind of insane how easy we find it to talk to each other, like we could seriously talk for hours on end and never run out of things to say to each other. It's amazing. I love it.

We happily stroll in through the doors of the music room, excited for the lesson as always. "Hey everyone!" Miss Kennedy greets in her usual cheery manner as she enters the room. "Did you all have a good weekend?"

Most of the class mumbles a response, but Ally and I decide to keep quiet… we're not really sure whether it was good or not. I guess, on the whole, we could probably say it was. Nevertheless, Miss Kennedy doesn't take too much notice anyway and just moves straight on with the lesson.

"Okay guys, so today we're going to be working in small groups to write a song together." Miss Kennedy begins. "So it will be Austin and Ally and then Sarah, Mike and Harry, okay?"

Me and Ally give each other a smile, we always work well together and we _know_ that we can write a hell of a good song.

"So your topic for this song will be overcoming tough situations and staying strong." Miss Kennedy continues. "You will have this lesson to write the song and then one of you will perform it at the end. It must be a solo song. Any questions?"

Nobody says anything, so Miss Kennedy just smiles at us and tells us we can begin.

I turn to Ally, who already has her songbook out, open and has a pen in her hand hovering above the page, ready to write. "So… what do you want to write the song about?" I ask.

"Well, there is something we could base it on…" She replies a little timidly, and she doesn't have to explain for me to know that she's talking about the abuse.

"Als, I know that's a really sensitive subject still… are you sure you want to write another song about it? I mean we already wrote Running…" I reply.

"No, Austin, I want to write this one. I want to be the one to perform it too… if you don't mind, that is." She continues shyly, looking down.

"Of course I don't mind! If you really want to write this song then I'm definitely up for it too! Any ideas straight away?

"Well…"

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

It was approaching the end of music class and the other group had performed their song, meaning it was time for me to get on the stage and show the class mine and Austin's work. I got into position behind the piano, took a deep breath and began.

 **(Link to this song: watch?v=xo1VInw-SKc)**

 _Like a small boat_

 _On the ocean_

 _Sending big waves_

 _Into motion_

 _Like how a single word_

 _Can make a heart open_

 _I might only have one match_

 _But I can make an explosion_

 _._

 _And all those things I didn't say_

 _Wrecking balls inside my brain_

 _I will scream them loud tonight_

 _Can you hear my voice this time?_

 _._

 _This is my fight song_

 _Take back my life song_

 _Prove I'm alright song_

 _My power's turned on_

 _Starting right now I'll be strong_

 _I'll play my fight song_

 _And I don't really care if nobody else believes_

 _'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me_

 _._

 _Losing friends and I'm chasing sleep_

 _Everybody's worried about me_

 _In too deep_

 _Say I'm in too deep (in too deep)_

 _And it's been two years_

 _I miss my home_

 _But there's a fire burning in my bones_

 _Still believe_

 _Yeah, I still believe_

 _._

 _And all those things I didn't say_

 _Wrecking balls inside my brain_

 _I will scream them loud tonight_

 _Can you hear my voice this time?_

 _._

 _This is my fight song_

 _Take back my life song_

 _Prove I'm alright song_

 _My power's turned on_

 _Starting right now I'll be strong_

 _I'll play my fight song_

 _And I don't really care if nobody else believes_

 _'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me_

 _A lot of fight left in me_

 _._

 _Like a small boat_

 _On the ocean_

 _Sending big waves_

 _Into motion_

 _Like how a single word_

 _Can make a heart open_

 _I might only have one match_

 _But I can make an explosion_

 _._

 _This is my fight song_

 _Take back my life song_

 _Prove I'm alright song_

 _My power's turned on_

 _Starting right now I'll be strong (I'll be strong)_

 _I'll play my fight song_

 _And I don't really care if nobody else believes_

 _'Cause I've still got a lot of fight left in me_

 _No I've still got a lot of fight left in me_

 **(This song: Fight Song by Rachel Platten)**

The song was really emotional and personal to me, I poured my heart out into it whilst writing it with Austin, and by the end of the song I had tears running down my face.

I was a mess in that moment, and knew instantly that there was only one thing I needed right then: Austin.

So as the class applauded, I immediately hopped up and ran off the platform and straight into Austin's arms, which were open and waiting for me, only to wrap tightly around me when I enter them and bury my head in his chest.

"Oh… Ally, are you okay?" Miss Kennedy asked gently, taking a few steps towards us.

"It's just quite a personal song for her, miss." Austin replied for me, making me giggle a little through the tears when his chest vibrated against me, making me ticklish.

"Ah okay, I understand." Miss Kennedy says sympathetically. "Well your song was excellent anyway, good work as always you two."

The bell rang soon after, but I was still in Austin's arms. I had stopped crying a few minutes ago and I wasn't really sad anymore, I was just enjoying and savouring the time I had in Austin's embrace… but he doesn't need to know that.

"You okay now?" He says, leaning his head over so his mouth is resting on the top of my hair.

"Mm-hmm." I hum into his chest.

"You ready to go home?" He continues, and I give the same response.

He unwraps his arms from around me and I have to suppress a whimper at the loss of him. However all is not completely lost, as I feel his hand take mine and interlink our fingers, bringing a smile to my face. We pick up our bags and leave the room.

We head out of the school and into the parking lot, and walk over to Austin's car like normal. Austin opens the passenger door for me, like a true gentleman, when I see someone walk up behind him who I recognise as his ex-friend Alex. Alex taps Austin on the shoulder, causing him to turn around.

"Hey… can I talk to you?" Alex asks kind of hesitantly.

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

Ugh, what does Alex want? I think last time we spoke I made it fairly clear to him that I wanted him to stay away from me for good. "Ally why don't you just get in the car and wait?" I say gently, but not taking my eyes of Alex. I don't trust him.

"Ummm… okay…" I hear Ally say behind me, before she steps into the vehicle and sits down. I close her door, still maintaining eye contact with Alex.

"What do _you_ want?" I ask sharply. "I'm pretty sure I told you to stay away from me."

"Yeah… about that." He begins. I can tell he's a little hesitant, which is completely unlike Alex. "I was just kinda hoping that maybe you'd be my friend again?"

I have to stop myself from bursting out laughing right in his face. "And why the hell would I want that?" I ask.

He looks a little sheepish and just shrugs his shoulders a little. At this moment, I remember something that had been the talk of the school last Friday… I guess I'd kinda forgotten about it with all the Ally drama.

"Oh, wait a second… I know what this is about." I begin, smiling as everything makes sense in my mind. "You got kicked off the football team and dumped by Kimmy, and now you're coming crawling back to me, huh?"

It's true. Turns out Alex was nowhere near as good a quarterback as he had first seemed, getting immediately kicked off the team after their first game. Obviously, as head cheerleader, Kimmy wasn't too keen to stay with Alex after that anyway, but somehow he managed to convince her to stay with him… until she caught him cheating with _three_ different girls that Thursday, leading to his public humiliation and dumping by her.

Since then he'd been the laughing stock of the school, his reputation having been completely destroyed and all his chances of ever getting together with a girl at this school gone forever.

Was I meant to feel sorry for him? Stand up for him? Because I was fairly certain that I wasn't going to do either of those things anytime soon – he'd been a complete dick to me so, in my opinion, he deserved everything he got. And I told him so as he stood in front of my car, pathetically asking me to forgive him.

"You know it's all your fault, right?" He asks, suddenly turning medicine. Huh?

"What!? Where did you get _that_ idea from!?" I reply, raising my voice a little.

"After that argument we had in the hallway, I changed. I couldn't focus anymore, which is why I started doing so bad in football, because I was so determined to prove I was better than you. When you told me what Kimmy had said about dropping me for you, I wanted to show that I could get any girl I wanted too, so I started talking to more girls, hooking up with them, going on dates, anything to prove I could be just as attractive as you. And then I got caught. Don't you get it, Austin? None of that would have happened if you hadn't had that argument with me!" He started to get all riled up and angry towards the end of his speech, but I refused to do the same and instead remained completely calm, keeping eye contact before speaking.

"You're wrong, Alex. You didn't change after our argument. You changed a long time before that." I say. "And like I told you earlier – I have _no_ sympathy for you. You brought this upon yourself when you decided to become one of the populars."

He looks down at the ground, visibly still angry, but I think he knows I'm right.

"What did I say to you Alex? I said 'That's not true popularity. Popularity is about your true friends, who like you for you no matter what.' Well, look at how true that turned out to be, huh Alex?" I continue. "And here's another truth for you – karma's a bitch. And this is possibly the best karma I've ever seen."

Alex looks up again with a face of fury. "No!" He suddenly shouts. "I was meant to be popular this year, I was finally going to be one of them! And you ruined that for me!"

I chuckle. "You _still_ don't get it. Whatever, I don't care. I stopped caring about you as soon as you joined that football team. You made your choice, Alex. Now be a man and stick to it." I finish, before getting into the driver's side of the car and watching him storm away back towards the school.

I let out a deep breath and turn to Ally, who's looking at me slightly concerned. "Well, he got what he deserved." I say with a smile, causing her to giggle in that beautiful way.

I drive us home and, as usual, we sing along to the radio the entire way.

When we get back to my house, there's a police car on the sidewalk just outside. We quickly get out and walk inside, to find Officers Davis and Henry, who we talked to at the police station, sat on one of the couches.

"Hello again, Ally. Austin." Officer Davis says, getting up and walking over to us, shaking my hand. "We have an update on Lester and Penny Dawson."

. . . . .

 **Wow, I can't believe that's already 19 chapters done!**

 **So it seems Austin was right, and Alex's 'popularity' completely backfired on him. And what do you think the news is on Lester and Penny? Find out in the next chapter!**

 **As you may be able to tell, I'm starting to wrap things up with this story... the next chapter is the last one!**

 **Please remember to follow, favourite, review, and leave suggestions and questions! It means a lot to me!**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**So guys, here we are. This is it. This is the final chapter of 'Who I Really Am'! It's crazy how quickly this story has come to an end.**

 **Don't worry though, because remember this is only the first story in a trilogy, so you still have two stories to look forward though!**

 **I'll do the huge, soppy thank you stuff at the end, but for now, enjoy the final chapter of 'Who I Really Am'!**

 **As ever, I do not own Austin and Ally or anything you recognise from the show in any way, shape or form, nor do I own any recognisable brands, songs or lyrics within them.**

. . . . .

 **Chapter Twenty: Who I Really Am**

 _Ally's POV_

" _Hello again, Ally. Austin." Officer Davis says, getting up and walking over to us, shaking Austin's hand. "We have an update on Lester and Penny Dawson."_

"W-w-what?" I stammer, swarms of butterflies suddenly infesting my stomach as I look at the officers in front of me. I look to my side and up at Austin, who has visibly tensed up and slowly grabs my hand in his, surprising me by how comforting it is.

"Yes, you heard me right." Officer Davis confirms. "Why don't we all take a seat and we shall tell you what progress has been made.

I nod and Austin leads me through into the living room, not letting go of my hand – which I'm thankful for. We take a seat on one of the couches and the two police officers sit on the other.

"So what have you found?" Austin speaks up when everyone's seated.

"Well, after your visit to us on Saturday morning, the rest of that day was spent completing all the necessary paperwork etc." Officer Davis begins.

"Then on Sunday morning we sent out one patrol car to camp outside the house and watch and wait for any activity." Officer Henry continues. "Nothing had happened by midday, at which point we sent out a small force of 5 officers to join those already there and carry out a raid on the house, which began at 1:30 Sunday afternoon."

"The officers carried out the normal procedure and first swept the ground floor of the house. They quickly located Lester Dawson in the kitchen and, after brief resistance from your father, managed to detain him. Thankfully no police officers were harmed." Officer Davis says.

I turned to look at Austin at this point, who offered me a smile and squeezed my hand, both of us thankful and glad that my dad had been captured and couldn't harm anyone anymore.

"Having successfully handcuffed Lester and escorted him to a waiting police car to be taken to prison, where he will be held in custody, the officers then proceeded to sweep the second floor of the house." Explained Henry.

"At 2:36 on Sunday afternoon, officers successfully located Penny Dawson, alive, having locked herself in the master bedroom's en-suite bathroom to hide from Lester." Officer Davis said with a small smile.

I felt an enormous wave of relief flood over me at this – my mom was okay! I had been so worried about her since the abuse started, and her safety instantly made me feel so much better.

"However…" Officer Davis continued. Wait, what!? "Penny is in a bad condition, both physically and mentally."

"Penny was covered in bruises and cuts, presumably from the abuse before she managed to evade Lester and hide in the bathroom. She was also incredibly thin and week, having not left the bathroom, and therefore not eaten, in four to five days."

Tears pricked the back of my eyes as I heard this. But it didn't end there. "Mentally, Penny is also showing several signs of potentially having developed PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. When officers first found her, Penny was cowering in a corner of the bathroom, shaking and seemingly in the middle of a flashback to the abuse, which is common for PTSD sufferers. When they tried to communicate with her, she either stared blankly back at them or burst into tears."

Solitary tears began to run down my cheeks as I understood that my mother had come out of the abusive experience much worse off than I had.

"Mrs Dawson was immediately taken to Miami General Hospital, where she is being treated for her injuries and is eating again, showing large improvement in her physical state. However, she was also confirmed by doctors as having severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and it is highly unlikely she will ever be able to live a normal life again." Officer Henry told us.

"W-wait, what?" I say nervously. "So what does this mean for the future then?"

"Well this is what we need to talk to you about now, Ally." Officer Henry continues. "In her current state, you cannot just live with your mother alone, due to your age and her mental condition."

"She can stay living here with me!" Austin suddenly spoke up, with determination in his voice.

Officer Davis offered him a small smile. "Unfortunately, that's not how it works, Austin. We understand that you two have a very good relationship and we definitely encourage you to keep supporting Ally in any way possible, however in these circumstances custody over Ally must go to a relative."

"Therefore, Ally, we have contacted your Aunt Eleanor, Penny's sister." Officer Henry said. I was immediately hit by a brick wall of dread, as I remembered that Aunt Eleanor lives in Chicago… I can't move in with her, I can't leave Austin!

"As you are probably aware, Eleanor Campbell lives in Chicago." Officer Davis continues. _'Here we go…'_ I thought. _'this is where they tell me I have to move away from Miami.'_ "However, due to Penny's condition, we do not want to have to make her move all that way. Plus, we recognise that you need support at this time and we understand how vital Austin and the rest of the Moon family has been in giving this to you this far, therefore we do not wish to force you to move away from them either."

Me and Austin immediately grin massively at each other and hug, so relieved that I won't have to move away from him. "Luckily, Miss Campbell quickly agreed to move to Miami in order to look after both you and Penny. We have assisted her in finding an apartment suitable for all of your needs, and you shall all move in this coming Friday." Officer Henry says.

My heart sinks at this. Obviously, I am massively relieved that my mom is okay and that I will get to see her again, and that I won't have to move away from Miami… but I really don't want to move out of Austin's house. This is home to me now. I am deep in thought about this when something Officer Davis says catches my attention.

"The final thing we need to discuss today is possession of the Sonic Boom shop. We understand that this business was predominantly run by Lester, however Penny's name is also on the lease. This means that, even though Lester is now under police custody, you still legally own the store and can do with it what you wish." This brightens my mood again, as I don't know how I would have coped had I had to give up Sonic Boom as well… I hadn't been there since the abuse began but it was still a huge part of my life.

"That is all we need to speak to you about for now… do you have any questions for us?" Officer Henry asks.

"Can I see my mom?" I ask, anxious to see her.

"Due to her current fragile mental and physical state, we recommend you do not go to the hospital today, although you can if you wish. Our advice is that you wait until tomorrow, by which point she should be able to interact with you more."

I nod. "Thank you, officers. I'm so glad this is all resolved." It's true, it does feel as if a huge weight has been lifted from my chest.

"Not at all." Officer Henry replies, as we all get up and Austin and I escort the officers to the door. "We will be in contact as and when is necessary regarding the legal process surrounding your father, but for now we will leave you to process all the information we have just told you."

Austin and I thank them again and say goodbye as they leave, shutting the door behind them and simultaneously letting out long sighs.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Austin turns to face me. "So… you're moving out, huh?" He says sadly.

I nod, and find myself starting to gently cry. I really don't want to leave Austin, even though I'm staying in Miami. It will just feel weird not being around him all the time. Austin notices me crying and pulls me into his arms, and I once again bury my face in his familiar chest. "I don't want to go. I'm at home here." I say softly.

"Hey, hey, hey. Come here." Austin says reassuringly, leading me upstairs and into his bedroom, and we go and sit on the bed. "It's all going to be for the best. You get to live with your mom again… she needs your support, Als. And at least you don't have to move all the way to Chicago."

"I know, I know, it's just going to feel so wrong without you around me 24/7." I reply, still crying.

There is silence for a couple of seconds, before Austin turns me to face him. "I have something that might just cheer you up." He says softly in my ear. "I've been working on it for a while… I just haven't found the right time for it."

With that he gets up and walks over to his acoustic guitar, picking it up before coming back to once again sit on the bed, facing me.

 **(Link to this song: watch?v=sWtP_1lyghM)**

 _I had to look inside_

 _This fragile heart of mine_

 _To find exactly what it was you saw_

 _I had to put myself back in the firing line_

 _To take the shot that knocked me to the floor_

 _._

 _I was down, losing faith, oh I was lost in the crowd_

 _You brought me round_

 _._

 _How did you find me?_

 _You came out of nowhere like lightning_

 _It's kind of amazing how you found me_

 _Through all the noise somehow_

 _._

 _I was pulling empty pales_

 _Out of the wishing well_

 _Only holy water breaks the spell_

 _I had to pinch myself_

 _'Cause I knew all too well_

 _The stairway to heaven oh it starts in hell_

 _._

 _I was down, but somehow an angel heard my sound_

 _And brought me round_

 _._

 _How did you find me?_

 _You came out of nowhere like lightning_

 _It's kind of amazing how you found me_

 _Through all the noise somehow_

 _How did you see me?_

 _Broke through the darkness and you reached me_

 _It's kind of amazing how you found me_

 _Through all the strangers somehow_

 _._

 _Faith and a little patience for this heart of mine_

 _Though I would stay here waiting for the end of time_

 _._

 _How did you find me?_

 _You came out of nowhere like lightning_

 _It's kind of amazing how you found me_

 _Through all the noise somehow_

 _How did you see me?_

 _Broke through the darkness and you reached me_

 _It's kind of amazing how you found me_

 _Through all the strangers somehow_

 _Through all the strangers somehow_

 **(This song: Amazing by Matt Cardle)**

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

I finish my song, having kept eye contact with Ally all the way through the song, to let her know that every word I sang was the complete truth.

I put the guitar down next to the bed, and try desperately to swallow the lump in my throat. _'Here we go…'_ I think to myself. _'time to finally confess how I feel to her.'_

"Ally I-'' I begin, before having to swallow again. I can't remember when I've ever been this nervous. "Ally, you mean so much to me." I begin again. "I've never felt this way about anyone before, you are just the most beautiful, incredible, amazing, _perfect_ girl I have ever met, and I already can't imagine my life without you."

I look up, having been staring at our intertwined hands whilst speaking, to see even more tears in Ally's eyes… I'm praying they're tears of joy.

"I-I love you, Ally." I finish.

Complete silence fills the room for around five seconds, and I nearly burst out crying, convincing myself she's being silent because she doesn't feel the same way. I'm an idiot. I grit my teeth and look back down at our hands, feeling my heart slowly tearing, when Ally's angelic voice fills the air once again.

"I love you too, Austin." She almost whispers, and with those five words I am instantly the happiest man alive. I look back up to see her looking straight into my eyes with a huge smile on her face. "I love you so much." She adds, giggling slightly.

I match her smile… no, scrap that, my smile is at least a thousand times bigger, it has to be, my face feels like it's going to tear off from how wide the smile is, and instantly grab her shoulders and pull her into my body for the best hug I've ever given or received.

A few seconds later we pull apart slightly. "So will you be my girlfriend?" I ask without even having to think for a second if it's what I really want.

She only needs to give a one-word answer for my entire world to become as bright as a shining beacon. "Yes."

And then I kiss her.

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

 _Woooooooooooooow_! That is the only way I can possibly describe my _first kiss_ , it was amazing and wonderful and perfect and all of those things, and what made it even more perfect was that it was with the guy of my dreams, Mr Austin Moon.

It wasn't too hard or powerful, it was soft and loving and full of passion, it was fireworks and explosions and all those other clichés, and I can honestly say that I have _never_ felt as happy as I did during that kiss. I have absolutely no idea how long it lasted, the entire world just faded out as I melted in his arms.

Eventually, though, and much to my dismay, it ended and he slowly pulled away, keeping his forehead resting against my own. I opened my eyes and found his deep brown ones staring straight into mine, and I was lost in them in an instant.

An enormous smile spread across his face, causing my own face to react in the same way as I felt relieved that I clearly couldn't have been that bad of a kisser.

"Wow." Is all he says after a couple of seconds.

"Yeah. Wow." I respond with a giggle.

There is more silence as we just sit there, wallowing in the happiness the kiss had brought to us.

"Thank you." I finally say, quietly.

"For what?" He says with a chuckle.

"For everything. For being the first person to try and be my friend in years. For being here for me through the toughest time of my life. For being my first kiss, my first boyfriend, my first love. For being you."

He smiles and gives me another small peck on the lips. "You are so welcome. But I need to thank you too."

Now it's my turn to giggle. "For what?"

"For seeing me and liking me for who I really am."

. . . . .

 _Austin's POV_

The next day at school was amazing. It felt so right to openly hold my _girlfriend_ Ally's hand as we walked into the school. Yes, of course everyone was staring as me, the supposed bad-boy surrounded by rumours walks hand in hand with a notorious nerdy introvert, but I honestly couldn't care less. All that mattered to me was Ally.

Trish and Dez acted surprised when Ally and I announced that we're officially a couple, but I think they knew all along that it would happen eventually. They seem to be getting on a lot better recently too… I wonder what's going on there.

I savoured every class I had with Ally, making sure we sat together and secretly holding her hand under the desk. Yeah, yeah, I know you're all probably thinking it's really corny or whatever, but what can I say? That's love.

The popular girls were giving Ally and I dirty looks all day… jealousy at its finest… but they never actually approached us, which I was thankful for. And hopefully they never will.

But honestly even if they had, I don't think it would have mattered too much.

Nothing can ruin my mood right now.

After school I took Ally to the hospital to see her mom. The officers were right… she was really fragile, you could tell she hadn't been eating well recently, and she barely said anything, most of the time sitting there staring at Ally with a glassy look in her eyes.

At one point, though, she suddenly grabbed Ally's hand and looked into her eyes, simply saying. "Ally. I'm so sorry." Before starting to cry, and Ally did too.

"It's okay, mom. We're both okay now." I grabbed her other hand and gave it a small squeeze for support. Ally had explained to Penny that I was her boyfriend, and Penny had been really nice and encouraging about it. I could tell she was really happy that her daughter was happy, and it made _me_ happy that I was the one making _Ally_ happy.

' _Yeah.'_ I thought to myself. _'I've made Ally happy. But not as happy as she's made me.'_

. . . . .

 _Ally's POV_

The week flew past, and before we knew it, it was Thursday night. Therefore also my last night at the Moons' house. It was agreed that I would have the day off school tomorrow, as I moved in with my mom and Aunt Eleanor in our new apartment.

Austin had wanted to have the day off with me, but I insisted he had to go to school, but that I would meet him outside school at the end of the day and take him back with me to see our new apartment.

On Thursday night Mimi cooked an amazing, huge feast of a dinner, and we all had a great evening, chatting happily and savouring the last of our time together. I still couldn't believe that I wouldn't be living with them anymore – they already felt like my real family… although obviously Austin didn't feel like my brother because he's my boyfriend… and that would be weird.

However after dinner, in Austin's room, was difficult.

I broke down, desperately not wanting to move out. I was probably overreacting massively, but at the time it seriously felt like the end of the world that I wouldn't be living with Austin anymore.

He held me tight pretty much all evening, reassuring me and helping me calm down. We sat cuddled on his bed, just talking, dragging out every second we had together. At one point he said he had to go speak to his parents and left the room for about half an hour, in which time I started to pack my clothes. Aunt Eleanor would pick me up from here at 10 a.m. and I didn't want to have to do too much in the morning.

When bedtime came, Austin and I got ready as usual and he went to go to his blankets on the floor… even though we were a couple now and whatever, he was still respectful and slept on the floor, just in case his parents walked in as they still don't know we're couple.

However, it was my last night with Austin, and I didn't want to sleep alone. "Austin?" I said as he walked back into the room from the bathroom.

"Yeah Als?" He replied.

"Can you… sleep with me tonight?"

For a second his eyes widen to the size of dinner plates, before he seems to realise what I meant and they return to their normal size. "I'm guessing you just mean in the same bed?" He answers with a chuckle.

"Yes, that _is_ what I mean." I reply with a giggle. "I just want to savour our time together."

"Of course Als. I feel the same, I just didn't want to ask you in case you didn't want me to." He says sheepishly. He's so cute!

"Well come on then blondie, I'm tired!" I joke.

"Hey! Watch it Dawson! Only Trish callas me that!" He replies acting threatening, even though it's completely obvious to both of us that he doesn't really mind.

With that I giggle, as he walks over to the bed and climbs in next to me, and seconds later I am wrapped back up in the familiar, comforting warmth of Austin's arms as I turn to face him, resting my forehead against his chest as his arms form a tight ring around my waist, making me feel safe and loved in his presence.

I quickly drift off to sleep.

I love waking up in Austin's arms. I don't want to get up the next morning, and judging by how tightly Austin's holding on to me he doesn't want to either. However, eventually we both realise we have to and do so, beginning our usual morning routine.

Austin soon has to leave for school, and then it hits me it's time to say goodbye before I move out. I start to cry again as I throw my arms around his neck and he responds by wrapping his around my waist. "Don't worry Als, I'll see you after school, okay?" He whispered into my ear.

I nodded into his chest, before pulling my head away just enough to lean up and give him a long, passionate kiss.

When we pulled apart, he took a small iPod out of his back pocket and handed it to me. "This is for you." He said softly. "There's only one song on it so far… but I think you'll like it. Just listen to it today if you get overwhelmed when you're unpacking, okay?"

I smile up at him and nod, before he leans down and gives me one more kiss before starting to walk backwards towards his car. "Later Als."

"Bye Austin."

It didn't take me long to need to listen to that song… in fact I didn't even make it to the new apartment. I turned on the iPod hesitantly whilst finishing my packing and eagerly clicked on the one song, titled 'Who I Really Am'.

The artist name simply read: "Austin x". I realised at this point that this must have been why he went 'to talk to his parents' last night.

I smiled as the wonderful voice of my even more wonderful boyfriend filled the room.

 **(Link to this song:** **watch?v=m3CVB3S9XqA** **)**

 _Rejected_

 _With nowhere to go_

 _Disconnected_

 _From everything I've known_

 _Forgotten_

 _Left out in the cold_

 _._

 _Bound by the darkness around me_

 _Just when I was losing hope_

 _._

 _Then your love breaks through_

 _Endless pursuit_

 _In spite of what and where I've been_

 _Nothing left to prove_

 _This heart rings true_

 _When you find me (when you find me)_

 _You remind me_

 _Of who I really am_

 _._

 _A story_

 _That's rarely been told_

 _Show me_

 _What destiny holds_

 _I'm waiting_

 _The future now unfolds (The future now unfolds)_

 _Oh yeah_

 _._

 _Now as the darkness is hiding_

 _Hearts are flooded by your hope_

 _._

 _Then your love breaks through_

 _Endless pursuit_

 _In spite of what and where I've been_

 _Nothing left to prove_

 _This heart rings true_

 _When you find me (when you find me)_

 _You remind me_

 _Of who I really am_

 _._

 _And now as the darkness is hiding_

 _Just when I was losing hope (just when I was losing hope)_

 _And now as the darkness is hiding_

 _And now as the darkness runs_

 _._

 _Then your love breaks through_

 _Endless pursuit_

 _In spite of what and where I've been_

 _Oh_

 _When you find me (when you find me)_

 _You remind me_

 _Of who I really am_

 **(This song: Who I Really Am by Chris and Conrad)**

. . . . .

 **That's it, everybody! The end of 'Who I Really Am'!**

 **It's been quite a journey, huh? I'm so proud of this story, even though I've hated writing it sometimes, it's all worth the end result. This feeling of satisfaction at having completed a story is unlike anything else.**

 **Of course, it wouldn't have happened without all of you. Your reviews are what have inspired me to keep writing when I've wanted to stop. Your follows and favourites let me know that you really care and want to see more. And even just seeing how many of you have read the story is incredible – I can't thank you enough!**

 **I of course want to say the most MASSIVE thank you to every single person who has reviewed, followed and favourited this story, and particular shoutouts go to:** theausllydoctor - **first ever reviewer on this story** LoveShipper **\- left an incredible total of 13 reviews on the story** SomberFilledWithSullen **\- kept me inspired to keep writing towards the end of the story when reviews and support has been kinda dying down.**

 **But remember, this is only the** **first story in a trilogy** **, so there is still plenty left in store for these characters, and I am so excited to continue this adventure! I have some good stuff lined up and I hope you guys enjoy it.**

 **The next story will be titled "Believe" and the first chapter will be uploaded on** _ **November 26th**_ **!**

 **Until then, keep on reviewing! Leave me your comments, suggestions, favourite parts and memories and all that stuff!  
**

 **So, for the final time in this story,**

 **Catch you later! :)**


	21. AN

**Hi everyone. Weird to be updating this story. As you may know, this story was originally intended to be the first in a trilogy. However, during the process of writing the second and third parts, I have realised I am not happy with how the story is progressing and also how well I am writing it because of my lack of inspiration and motivation. Therefore, I have decided that I would rather have one part written well that I'm happy with than one that I like and two that I'm disappointed with, and as a result will be deleting what I have written for the second part thus far and leaving this as one story. Thanks for understanding and for your continued support.**

 **Catch you later!**


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